Big 12 Tournament 2021: Semifinals Scores, Championship Bracket and Schedule
No. 12 Oklahoma State will meet No. 11 Texas on Saturday to determine the 2021 Big 12 tournament champion and an automatic berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
The Cowboys advanced to the title game for the first time since 1999 with an 83-74 upset win over Baylor.
The Longhorns were scheduled to play 11th-ranked Kansas in the first semifinal Friday, but the Jayhawks announced they had to withdraw from the tournament because of a positive COVID-19 test within the program.
Texas is one win away from winning the first Big 12 tournament title in school history. The Longhorns haven't won a conference tournament title since capturing the Southwest Conference crown in 1995.
2021 Big 12 Tournament Semifinal Results
No. 12 Oklahoma State def. No. 2 Baylor: 83-74
No. 13 Texas advanced past No. 11 Kansas (Uncontested Game)
2021 Big 12 Tournament Final Schedule
No. 12 Oklahoma State vs. No. 13 Texas
Date: Saturday, March 13
Start Time: 6 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
No. 12 Oklahoma State 83, No. 2 Baylor 74
After a slow start to the second half, Oklahoma State had a run of 11 unanswered points to earn an 83-74 win over No. 2 Baylor.
The Cowboys were the aggressors in the first half and took a 35-30 lead into the break. Avery Anderson III capped off Oklahoma State's stellar opening 20 minutes with a fast-break layup.
The Bears were able to make adjustments coming out for the second half. At one point, they had a 30-18 scoring advantage to take a 60-53 lead with just under eight minutes remaining. It looked like that was going to propel the Big 12 regular-season champions to a hard-fought win.
Oklahoma State made adjustments of its own to earn its biggest victory of the season thus far. Cade Cunningham led a 13-5 run in the span of four minutes by hitting back-to-back three-pointers to put the Cowboys back up by one point.
The two teams would trade six ties or lead changes over the final five minutes and 20 seconds of regulation. Anderson put Oklahoma State up for good with a layup-and-one with just over two minutes to play.
Cunningham's assist to Rondel Walker on the Cowboys' next possession provided the cushion they would need to hang on. The star freshman finished with a game-high 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting, along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Anderson added 20 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting from the field. Walker had 11 points and six rebounds off the bench. Oklahoma State had a 26-13 advantage in free-throw attempts in the win.
In addition to scoring 83 points against Baylor, Oklahoma State's defense held the nation's fourth-ranked scoring offense to 38.7 percent shooting (6-of-28 from three-point range). MaCio Teague had 17 points but shot just 41.2 percent from the field.
The Bears will likely still be in line for a No. 1 seed by virtue of their 22-2 record. ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the Cowboys as a No. 3 seed in the tournament and trending up entering Friday.
A victory over Texas in the conference title game could potentially propel Oklahoma State up to the two line.
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