Big 12 Tournament: A rivarly is born

Texas leads its all-time series against Baylor 155-79. The Longhorns basically beat the Bears two of every three times they meet. Under such lopsided circumstances, intense rivalries rarely are formed, but Baylor has changed all that in a span of one year.

Texas coach Rick Barnes, who arrived in Austin in 1998, went unbeaten in his first 24 meetings against the Bears. Baylor snapped the streak last March with a victory inside the Ford Center at last year’s Big 12 Tournament. The Bears pushed their winning streak to four straight against the Longhorns with an 86-67 victory in a Thursday night quarterfinal at the Sprint Center.

“When I first got here, you never know what you’re getting yourself into when you come to a program that had been down for so long,” BU senior point guard Tweety Carter said. “I always wanted to be part of something special.”

The game featured three technical fouls and several verbal exchanges between players. The day before the game, Texas forward Damion James had said the game against Baylor was “personal.”

“Anytime you hear a comment like that you’re going to come out with another boost of energy,” Carter said. “We just wanted to come out and show that we belong here.”   

Texas will have to wait until next season to snap its losing streak against the Bears. “But you never know,” Carter said. “We might see them again (in the NCAA Tournament).” Not the way the Longhorns are playing, they won’t.