Texas still has a pulse thanks to Isaiah Taylor's game-winning floater
The first time Texas had a chance to hold for the final shot on Monday night, the outcome was a contested 25-foot jumper from Jonathan Holmes that barely even drew iron.
The Longhorns were a bit more successful the second time.
With Texas and Baylor tied in the final seconds of overtime, Javan Felix drove right, drew the attention of the defense and zipped a cross-court pass to teammate Isaiah Taylor. Lester Medford and Taurean Prince got caught watching the ball and were slow to rotate, enabling Taylor to split them both off the dribble and sink a floater to give his team a potentially season-saving 61-59 victory.
Had Texas not overcome a 10-point deficit in the final seven minutes of regulation against the No. 14 team in the nation and then found a way to win in overtime, its flickering hopes of earning an at-large NCAA bid likely would have been snuffed out.
A loss would have dropped Texas to 6-11 in the Big 12 entering its regular season finale on Saturday against Kansas State. Only Florida State in 1998 and Iowa State in 1992 have ever received at-large bids despite finishing four games below .500 in league play, and the Longhorns didn't accomplish enough in November and December to join that list.
In reality, Texas (18-12) will still have work to do to make the NCAA tournament even if it wins its final Big 12 game to improve to 8-10 in the league.
Though the Longhorns have beaten West Virginia, Iowa and Baylor and have not lost to a single opponent that isn't an NCAA tournament contender, they're still just 3-11 against RPI top 50 opponents. To feel secure about its chances on Selection Sunday, Texas probably has to beat Kansas State on Saturday and reach the Big 12 title game the following weekend. To give themselves a realistic shot, the Longhorns better at least defeat the Wildcats and then reach the semis.
That the Longhorns are in this position is stunning considering all the players they have back from a team that won 24 games and reached the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament last season.
Every rotation player besides reserve guard Martez Walker returned this season and the Longhorns added elite 7-foot freshman Myles Turner to an already deep, talented frontcourt. They spent most of the first two months of the season in the top 10 in the polls despite the loss of Isaiah Taylor to a wrist injury, however, they have not fared well against rugged competition in Big 12 play. Five of Texas' six Big 12 wins prior to Monday night had come against Texas Tech, TCU and Kansas State.
Texas won Monday despite surrendering 21 offensive rebounds to a Baylor team that is among the national leaders in that category. Kendal Yancy, Demarcus Holland and Felix each scored in double figures from the backcourt and the Longhorns held Baylor to just 33.3 percent shooting. Felix, Holmes and Holland each had 3-pointers during Texas' 16-6 surge to end regulation and force overtime.
The Longhorns' victory was marred by an incident during overtime that began with Taylor scrambling for a loose ball and catching an incidental elbow. No punches were thrown in the ensuing scuffle but a total of seven players were ejected for leaving their respective benches, four from Texas and three from Baylor.
Members of both teams jawed at one-another again as Baylor left the floor after postgame handshakes, a bad look for both under the circumstances.
The Bears had no reason to talk after losing a winnable game. And the Longhorns should just be happy their season still has a faint pulse.
(Thanks for the video, SBNation)
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
