Will Texas basketball team play Baylor again after this season? Both coaches hope so.
When Texas opened up Big 12 play a couple of weeks ago with a loss to visiting Texas Tech, there wasn’t much chatter about keeping the schools' long rivalry alive after the Longhorns join the SEC on July 1.
And that came as no surprise. The hard feelings between the two programs seem to extend to all sports, and those emotions have been especially raw in men’s basketball since Texas lured former Texas Tech coach Chris Beard away from Lubbock in 2021, just two years after Beard had led the Red Raiders to their only NCAA title game appearance.
During October’s Big 12 basketball media days in Kansas City, Mo., both Texas coach Rodney Terry and first-year Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland demurred on questions about extending a rivalry that has been played 145 times since first tipping off in 1958, citing questions about new conference lineups and other possible scheduling issues.
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But after Texas’ dramatic 75-73 win over Baylor on Saturday, there didn’t seem to be such concerns. Both Terry and longtime Baylor coach Scott Drew seemed confident that the two schools separated by 100 miles of Interstate 35 would continue their spirited series after Texas leaves the Big 12. Terry kick-started his collegiate coaching career when he left the high school ranks to be a Baylor assistant for two seasons from 1996 to 1998, and he has long expressed a fondness for his tenure with the Bears.
“It's a great rivalry; it really is,” Terry said. “I spent some time in Waco (and) enjoyed my time there. Yeah, I think there's going to be opportunities in the future to continue to be able to play. Scott's built a great program there, (so) nothing but respect for what he's done. We recruit the same players, and you want to play the best in the country. Why not when you have that close proximity?”
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Drew, who led Baylor to its only national championship in 2021, said the series against Texas has helped both programs when it comes to recruiting in-state players and raising the profile of all collegiate programs in Texas.
“It's good for the state,” Drew said. “I think the state's really benefited from us playing, so I'm sure we'll do something. I don't know if there will be an every-year thing, but I have a lot of respect for what Texas does for the state.”
Texas leads the all-time series with Baylor 164-97, and that is the most games the Longhorns have played against any opponent. All of those games came during the regular season or conference tournament in the Southwest Conference or the Big 12. The teams will meet for the final time in a regular-season conference game March 4 in Waco.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas, Baylor hope to continue basketball series after this season
