World, I'd Like to Introduce You to Baylor

World, I'd like to introduce you to Baylor?

Do You remember last year's Texas against Oklahoma State game in Stillwater, Okla.?

You remember the Kevin Durant-Mario Boggan talk that led up to the game?

You remember both living up to the hype with 37-point nights for both (Boggan had 20 boards to Durant's 12)?

You remember Byron Eaton's ridiculous half court heave for three?

You remember a regulation that was only bested by the three nail-biting overtimes that followed?

You remember the "Instant Classic" designation the game received the next day?

Now take all that, substitute in a team that no one outside of the Big 12 has really heard of, make the other squad a team that has looked horrible the past few weeks and are desperately trying to hold a home-court edge, add two more overtimes, remove ESPN from the equation so no bandwagon fans are watching and what do you get?

Baylor 116, Texas A&M 110 in five overtimes, the new "best game in Big 12 history."

If you didn't realize the game would have fireworks, you haven't been paying attention (that includes ESPN, who aired Kansas' blowout of Iowa State on the main network and let, as Baylor's website noted before the game, "None" air the gem).

A team in the rise who has been constantly slept on this season (nationally, anyway) meets a team on an incredible decline. A squad looking to prove themselves on the road meets a team coming home to one of the few places they probably still had confidence.

And then the product actually met the hype of the storylines. How many times does that happen?

Odds are, the game will get the "Instant Classic" tag and somebody will re-air in its entirety over the weekend. YouTube already has the highlights so it's only a matter of time.

But until then, let it be known that the Bears are for real, have been since they almost upset Washington State back in November.

Personally, I think they're  better than A&M, who can't win on the road, and Texas, who has a bad habit of turning it on and off when they feel like it.

Kansas State? I'm not sure if I can go that far and put Baylor on that level, but they're up there. Then again, I've been on the Beasley band wagon for the past couple weeks so maybe I'm a bit bias.

Either way, the Bears are a force. Remember that come bracket time.