(January 23, 2008)--Baylor waited 39 years to get back into the Top 25.
Then the Bears had to wait some more, enduring five overtimes to get their first win as a ranked team.
Curtis Jerrells scored a career-high 36 points as 25th-ranked Baylor beat 18th-ranked Texas A&M 116-110 Wednesday night.
The game, itself, made history, going into FIVE Overtimes, making it the longest Big XII Basketball Game EVER!
Baylor (16-2, 4-0 Big 12) won its fifth in a row and first since entering the rankings for the first time since 1969 on Monday.
The loss broke a 15-game home winning streak for Texas A&M and is the Aggies' third straight loss.
Jerrells contributed 11 points in the decisive fifth overtime.
ADAM WINKLER'S GAME BLOG
Good Morning Baylor Fans! Some of you will wake up to see this score (hopefully on KWTX.com) and not believe your eyes. FIVE OVERTIMES?!?! Unreal.
I apologize that I'm just now filing my final update. When the game ended (at almost 11pm), I went straight into the post-game press conference. Then, when the presser was complete, I jumped in the news vehicle and booked it back to Waco (while obeying the speed limit and other rules of the road the entire way, officer) in order to beat the team bus back to the Ferrell Center as it was greeted by some 200 JACKED-UP Baylor students in near-freezing temperatures. That atmosphere was amazing!
You can catch the video and soundbites from the 2am "heroes welcome" on our morning show and more than likely throughout the day on KWTX. Congrats to the BU students who made it out - that was large of you.
Before I sign-off...some of you may be wondering why my "live" game blog fizzled after the game went to a 4th OT...and rightfully so.
When the game went to a 4th OT, I left my place on press row...grabbed my camera and went to down to the floor to grab a spot on the baseline in order to capture the remainder of this thriller on video. At that time, I felt that if it wasn't already...this could go down as the greatest basketball game in Baylor history - and I wanted us to be able to bring you ALL of the sights and sounds of the College Station classic, as opposed to just my humble opinion via a blog from press row. I don't think you will disappointed in what I was able to gather.
Please tune in to KWTX news at 5, 6, and 10 on Thursday to see all of the highlights, celebrations, and post game comments from the longest game in Big 12 conference history.
Thanks for logging on. I will have more tomorrow...maybe it'll have sunk in by then....
****TRIPLE OVERTIME!!!****
The Bears went three OT's in 1988 against SMU and lost 97-93
That next season, still in '88 though, BU beat North Texas 96-95 in Four Overtimes.
BU is nearly out of big men now. Both Mamadou and Lomers have fouled out of the game. Mark Shepherd has 4.
aTm is taking advantage of its size. Aggies lead 85-82 with 3:00 to play in triple OT
Kevin Rogers swatted an aTm shot with less than 3 seconds left in the 2nd overtime to keep the game knotted at 80.
Baylor has NEVER played a triple overtime game under Scott Drew
This is the 3rd triple OT game in aTm history
****1:11 LEFT IN DOUBLE OVERTIME. TIED (SHOCKING, I KNOW) AT 80****
This is the 2nd DOUBLE OVERTIME game of the Scott Drew era and only the 4th for Baylor since 1990. BU is 4-and-0 in those games.
It's the first time under Scott Drew that the Bears have gone to Double OT in a Big 12 game
****DOUBLE OVERTIME AT REED ARENA. BEARS AND AGGIES TIED AT 76****
That defensive stop came, but on the put-back aTm sent the game to DOUBLE OVERTIME. Tied at 76.
Baylor is 25-and-1 in the Scott Drew era when scoring 80 points or more. The Bears start the "final" (we think) 5 minutes with 76.
****BEARS LEAD 76-74 WITH 14 SECONDS LEFT. ONE DEFENSIVE STOP COULD DO IT****
Kevin Rogers just hit one of two free throws to put BU up by two with 14 seconds left. Both teams are out of timeouts.
aTm Ball.
****ROGERS TIES IT UP! 72-72 WITH 55 SECONDS LEFT****
Kevin Rogers just buried an 18 footer.
He now has 11 points to go along with his 15 rebounds.
****FREE BASKETBALL IN COLLEGE STATION. WE ARE GOING TO OVERTIME TIED AT 64****
Donald Sloan went uncontested to the rack for a BIG FLUSH to tie the game with less than 5 seconds left.
Henry Dugat's attempt at a tie drew front iron.
Baylor has not played an overtime game this season. The Bears are 4-and-0 all time under Scott Drew in overtime games.
****THAT COMFY LEAD IS GONE. 2 MINUTES TO PLAY. BEARS UP 61-60****
aTm went on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 60. Kevin Rogers just made 1-of-2 from the line. Bears lead 61-60.
Positive Sign: Baylor does not appear to be pressing. They've been here before...
****REED ARENA IS SILENT. WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE "LETS GO BAYLOR" CHANTS. BEARS LEAD 58-51 WITH 5:29 TO PLAY****
Since Tweety tied the game at 44, the Bears have doubled up aTm 14-to-7.
BU's defense is stellar. The Bears are forcing the Aggies into taking long threes because they can't do anything inside the paint.
AB has 16 points and 4 assists. Two of those assists came on the buckets to put Baylor up by 4 and 6 points, respectively.
****BAYLOR HAS ITS LARGEST LEAD OF THE GAME. FOUR. BU UP 54-50****
After two OUTSTANDING defensive possessions, producing one 35-second shot clock violation and one VERY near violation, AB found a streaking Kevin Rogers (down through the quads to the gymnasium; bring your green hat) to put the Bears up 54-50
****THE PACE HAS PICKED UP. BAYLOR LEADS 52-50. 9:15 LEFT IN THE GAME****
In similar fashion to last Saturday in Lincoln, Tweety tied the game up (and silenced the home crowd in the process) with a huge 3. His trey knotted the game at 44 with 14 minutes left.
Since then, it's been back and forth. SEVEN lead changes in less than 5 minutes of action. This place is getting loud. Stay tuned.
****15:42 LEFT TO PLAY: BEARS DOWN 41-39****
At the 17:30 mark, the Bears took their first lead of the game since Josh Lomers put Baylor up 2-zip.
Lomers is sitting close to me. He's on the bench after picking up his 4th foul.
After shooting just 25% in the first half, BU's guards are driving to the hoop - in an effort to A)get aTm's big men in foul trouble and B)take higher percentage shots
This is the best I've seen Mamadou Diene play this year. He has 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in 15 minutes of action
****BEARS TRAIL 35-29 AT THE HALF. THEY'RE LUCKY IT'S THAT CLOSE. AND BU IS RIGHT WHERE IT WANTS TO BE****
The Aggies took a 6 point lead into the locker room. If Baylor wasn't 8-for-8 from the free throw line, I might be on my way out of Reed Arena and hitting up Freebirds a little early.
BU is just 9-for-36 shooting (25%)
BU is 3-for-11 behind the 3-point line (27%)
And here's another reason my SuperMonster can wait:
Baylor is 5-and-0 this season when trailing at the half. 2 out of the Bears' three big 12 wins have been 2nd half comebacks (7 points vs. Iowa State and 5 points vs. Nebraska)
Kevin Rogers and Aaron Bruce are keeping the Bears in the game. AB is leading the team with 10 points at the half and Kevin Rogers is a MONSTER tonight. The big guy has 10 first half rebounds. The rest of Baylor's team has just 12 combined.
*-*This just in...Robert Shiekh our courtside compadre has weighed in:
And I quote "I think Baylor will win this game just judging by both teams body language."
They don't call him the Swami of the Sideline for nothing. I just hope we can pony up with a salary to keep Dr. Phil from stealing him away.
****BEARS ERASE 14 POINT DEFICIT. TIED AT 27 WITH 2:48 TO PLAY IN 1ST HALF****
The Bears are on a 19-to-5 run.
Aaron Bruce has 10 points in 13 minutes on the court. He is 4-of-6 shooting and hasn't missed from 3-point range.
aTm fans aren't happy about the refs. The Bears have been whistled for 10 fouls. aTm 9.
****8:00 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF****
Baylor on a 12-0 run. 22-20 aTm lead. It was 22-8
After going almost 10 minutes without a 3-pointer...Jerrells and Bruce bury back-to-back tri-fectas.
Bears haven't missed a free throw (4-for-4). Despite the Aggie student section doing what looks like Riverdance behind the bucket...
****12:00 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF****
The current temperature in College Station is 42 degrees. Baylor and aTm are shooting a combined 23 percent from the floor. The Bears are 2-for-14. Aggies 5-for-13.
Bears down 8.
****4:00 INTO THE GAME****
Baylor has only 2 team fouls, but both of them are on its big men. Rogers (1) and Lomers (1). If the Bears' big guys get into foul trouble, it could be a long night.
LaceDarius Dunn is in the game. Buckle your seat belt.
****5 MINUTES 'TIL TIP****
About to Tip. A couple of things to watch:
**THE AGGIES FRONT COURT**
The Aggies rank second nationally in rebounding margin at +10.7 and have out-rebounded all but one opponent this season.
Here are the rebounding performances of Baylor's big men against aTm:
Kevin Rogers (4 games) 4.3 rebounds per game
Mark Shepherd (4 games) 1.5 rebounds per game
Mamadou Diene (4 games) 3.0 rebounds per game
Josh Lomers (2 games) 0.0 rebounds per game (John Blutarsky would be proud)
**BU FROM THE FIELD**
The Bears are 14-and-0 when shooting a higher field goal percentage than their opponent.
4 out of 5 Baylor starters shoot 47% or higher for their career against the Aggies (Jerrells, Bruce, Dugat, Lomers)
****GREETINGS FROM AGGIELAND****
I know visitors to KWTX.com are the best and brightest our society has to offer, so I won't insult your intelligence by telling you (again) that this is the first time since 1969 that Baylor is ranked in the AP top 25 poll...
OR...
That this is the first time EVER in 196 meetings (dating back to 1915) between Baylor and aTm that BOTH teams are ranked...
You're better than that.
So chew on these numbers while I count the number of number 12's in the arena:
**Baylor enters the game with a 15-and-2 record on the season. BU finished 15-and-16 last year.
**In the Scott Drew era, the Bears are 19-and-51 in televised games. You won't find tonight's game on TV. Yep, you're stuck with me.
**The last 5 games in this series have been decided by 10 points or less and the last 8 have been decided by 12 points or less.
**According to THE VEGAS: aTm -9
**aTm has not lost at home this season (13-0)
**the Aggies have won 15 games in a row at home dating back to last season. That's the 10th longest streak in America.
**Baylor has lost 29 straight games vs. ranked teams, but the Bears have never played a ranked team AS a ranked team. So, this is the first "true" top-25 match-up in Baylor men's hoops history
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