The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma State
Men's Basketball claims share of Big 12 championship with win over Oklahoma State, 62-57
03.09.2008 | Men's Basketball
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Texas appeared on the verge of giving away its share of the Big 12 title and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
Sorry Kansas, the Longhorns weren't feeling quite that generous.
D.J. Augustin scored 20 points and the No. 9 Longhorns won their share of the Big 12 regular season title for the second time in three years Sunday with a tough 62-57 win over Oklahoma State.
The win also clinched the top seed in the league tournament later this week, which Texas (26-5, 13-3) earned by beating the co-champion Jayhawks in February.
After the game, Longhorns players hoisted the conference trophy at midcourt in a short celebration. A few minutes later, it was back to business.
"We're pretty happy," guard A.J. Abrams said. "This is one goal we set. The season's not over."
It didn't come easy. The Cowboys (16-14, 7-9) kept it close the entire way.
It wasn't until Abrams broke a game-long shooting slump with two late baskets and Damion James made four free throws in the final 36 seconds that Texas finally put it out of reach. James finished with 13 points and 18 rebounds.
"We didn't expect it to be easy. We had to earn it," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "I thought we were jumpy. They knew what they were playing for and we came out like a team that was trying to get it done quickly."
Texas could face the Cowboys (16-14, 7-9) again in just a few days.
The Longhorns will play the winner of the Texas Tech-Oklahoma State first-round matchup. Texas' two wins over OSU were close games and Texas Tech snapped the Longhorns' eight-game winning streak on March 1 in Lubbock.
"I don't think we look forward to playing anybody in our league," Barnes said.
OSU mixed up defenses to try to confuse Texas and wear on Augustin, using beefy guard Byron Eaton and several players to cover him. The Cowboys clamped down on Texas' scoring in the paint, but stopping the scrappy point guard from driving the lane or stepping out for 3-pointers is hard to do.
"We tried to keep them off balance," Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton said. "He's so hard to keep out of the paint."
Oklahoma State opened the second half with a 10-4 run that tied it at 37 when Marcus Dove flushed a rebound off a miss. The play started when Augustin lost the ball on a drive to the basket and Eaton threw the ball out to start a fast break.
The Cowboys briefly held the lead until Augustin, probing the perimeter for an opening to drive, pulled up for a long 3.
Augustin and the Cowboys traded shots for the next three minutes. On one play, Eaton casually tracked down an errant pass and Augustin snuck in behind him, poked it away and coasted in for an uncontested layup and a 46-43 Texas lead.
The Longhorns needed everything they could get from Augustin as Texas' interior players all but disappeared for large stretches of the game.
James was a dominant force on the boards, but until forward Gary Johnson made two free throws with 7 minutes left, Johnson and Connor Atchley had a total of three rebounds and eight points.
Eaton pulled OSU within 51-49 when he lowered his shoulder on a drive against Augustin, drew a foul and made two free throws with just over four minutes to play.
Abrams, the streakiest shooter in the Big 12, broke out of a nightmarish game late. He was 1-of-13 and misfiring from everywhere before coming up with two big shots. When a 3-pointer rattled in with 1:44 to play, Texas led 56-51.
"As the game keeps going on, you keep thinking he's done, that he's cold. Then he comes up with a couple of shots," Oklahoma State's Obi Muonelo said.
Texas could have settled it when Augustin dished to Atchley in the paint, but he missed the layup and a tip-in on the rebound before Terrel Harris swished a 3-pointer from the corner to get the Cowboys within two.
Texas finally put it away on James' free throws. When Augustin was trapped in the backcourt in the final seconds, he avoided three defenders and fired a baseball pass to Abrams at midcourt to get out of the jam.
Eaton and Harris each scored 12 points to lead the Cowboys who have lost two in a row after a five-game winning streak.
"Congratulations to Texas and Kansas," Sutton said. "They both have a chance to be in the Final Four and win the national championship."
POSTGAME NOTES
TEAM
- Texas wins a share of the Big 12 Conference Title with Kansas and the No. 1 seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
- Texas claims its second Big 12 title in the last three years and its third in the 10 years under Rick Barnes and is a No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Championship for the second time in the last three years. Its last title came in 2005-06 when it also shared it with Kansas.
- Texas' 26 wins set the school record for most regular season victories, passing the 25 wins of 2005-06.
- Texas reached 13 conference wins for the fifth time in the Rick Barnes era.
- Texas has won four straight over Oklahoma State and 23 of the last 33 dating back to 1976-77.
- Texas has won 12 of the last 14 against Oklahoma State in Austin.
- Texas established a new single-season total attendance mark with 248,673 fans in 18 games. The previous mark was 222,400 set in 1978-79.
- Texas played in its 18th home game of the season, the most in school history.
- Texas is 17-1 at the Erwin Center this year, including a 8-0 mark in Big 12 home games.
- Texas is 138-18 (.885) at the Erwin Center during the Rick Barnes era, including winning 92 of its last 98 home games.
- Texas is 69-11 (.863) in Big 12 Conference home games under Rick Barnes.
- Texas has blocked 44 shots in the past six games (7.3 bpg).
A.J. Abrams
- Recorded three or more steals for the fifth time this season and had three by halftime
- Led Texas in steals for the 17th time this season
Connor Atchley
- Recorded at least one block in his 12th consecutive game
D.J. Augustin
- Reached the 20-point mark for the 16th time this season and the 23rd time in 66 career games
- Scored in double figures for the 28th time this season and the 53rd time in his career
- Has made at least two three-pointers in 21 games this season
- Has made at least one three-pointer in seven consecutive games and 28 of 31 games this season
- Led Texas in assists for the 27th time this season
- In his last six contests, has averaged 23.7 ppg
Damion James
- Set his career high with 18 rebounds (17 at Rice, 12-8-07)
- James' 332 rebounds this season rank ninth on the UT single-season list
- Scored in double figures for the 20th time this season and the 32nd time in 66 career games
- Registered his 14th double-double of the season and the 18th of his career
- Recorded at least seven rebounds for the 26th consecutive game and did so by the 7:49 mark in the first half
- Reached double figures in rebounding for the 17th time this season and the 27th in 66 career games
- His 11 first half rebounds were one shy of the UT record for rebounds in a half in a Big 12 game (12, five times)
- Led Texas in rebounding for the 28th time this season
- Has recorded 103 rebounds in the last nine games (11.4 rpg)
- Has blocked at least one shot in nine consecutive games and at least two in seven of the last eight games
- Made at least one three-pointer in seven of the last eight games
- Blocked three or more shots for the fourth time this year
Justin Mason
- Scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and the 20th time in 66 career games
- Has totaled 52 rebounds in the past eight games (6.5 rpg)
- Pulled down at least six rebounds in six of the last eight games
- Has made at least two three pointers in two of the last three games
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS COACH Rick Barnes
On playing a lot of close games recently: It seems like we have been in tough games since the get-go. I can't remember the last time it was easy. You look at the job that Sean Sutton has done at Oklahoma State, and I think they were 1-6 starting conference play, and they certainly put themselves in a position to beat us and go 8-8. We knew it would be hard, and I do think we were jumpy from the beginning, and I felt like we didn't settle down. We had some chances and we missed some shots. Once we had the opportunity to take control of the game, it seems like we can't put together two or three good offensive possessions back-to-back. We made it hard on ourselves with our turnovers from being a little bit jumpy. It was a great win, and we didn't expect it to be easy because we had to earn it. I have to complement our guys for that, because I do think they worked really hard and got it done.
On missing shots: We did miss some shots and there are nights where you are going to do that. They had a couple of good looks and they missed shots as well. It's competitive because the players know each other really well. Oklahoma State is a good team. You look at our league this year, it's been hard to get wins for ourselves, but we've been fortunate to get those things done. A.J. [Abrams] struggled again early but came up big. Damion [James] had 18 rebounds where he just went and got them. Justin Mason gave us another great night. It would be a whole lot easier if we could make some shots, believe me.
On A.J. struggling early and then making big shots: He likes drama. Earlier, I told A.J. and D.J. [Augustin] to slow down, and I just thought that we were jumpy. I wasn't surprised, because they knew what they were playing for and we came out like a team that wanted to get it done quickly. We mishandled the ball and missed some shots, and that itself is a lesson for us. We want A.J. to shoot it. That's his role he has to play. In the first half, I think he was 1-for-8 and I think four of those shots were because he was antsy and jumpy. But for the most part, he hasn't allowed it to affect his defense or the way he carries himself.
A.J. Abrams, JUNIOR GUARD
On hitting most of his shots late in the game: Hopefully I can start hitting some shots in the first half and early in the second half. My teammates and my coaches always tell me to keep shooting. My role on the team is to be a scorer and try to get people involved. I put in work in the off-season. You don't want to let all of that go to waste, so I just had to keep shooting.
On winning a share of the Big 12 regular season title: We're pretty excited. That was one goal we set for ourselves and we accomplished it. We're pretty happy with what we've done so far, but this is just one step for us. We just have to keep playing and keep getting better.
D.J. Augustin, SOPHOMORE GUARD
On the team's performance this regular season: We've been getting better as a team. We still have a long way to go to accomplish our goals. My teammates all did a good job stepping up and playing big roles throughout the year.
On Oklahoma State's game plan: They played great defense. They came out and played as a team on defense. They were communicating, helping each other, playing really solid. We had to fight the drive and keep playing. They mixed it up a lot, they made it hard for us, and it wasn't going to be an easy game.
Justin Mason, SOPHOMORE GUARD
On defending Byron Eaton: We know he's great driver and a good all around player. We have to keep him from getting to the paint. He did that later in the game and that's when they started to go on a run, so as a team we wanted to limit his pieces of the paint.
On the Big 12 Tournament: I think it will be just like the regular season. There aren't going to be any easy games. Anyone in the Big 12 can play, so I think the tournament will be like mini-season again. We're looking forward to playing.
OKLAHOMA STATE QUOTES
HEAD COACH SEAN SUTTON
Opening statement: First of all, congratulations to Texas and Kansas on winning the Big 12 Championship. Both of those teams are great basketball teams, and I think they both have a chance to be in the Final Four and win the National Championship. Today, I told our guys before the game that this is going to be a great test of their character. People are going to see how we are going to respond coming off of a disappointing loss to our rival on Wednesday night. It was a game where we didn't play very well and Oklahoma played extremely well. But I couldn't be more proud of my team than I am right now. We didn't win the game, but our guys gave great effort and they did everything that we asked them to do in regards to our game plan and to put ourselves in a position to win. We just didn't come up with a few plays down the stretch. But we played tough, we played hard and we competed against a great basketball team from start to finish.
On Texas as a team: We tried to keep them off balance. I don't think they are a team that you can play straight up man-to-man against. We tried that in Stillwater and maybe we can do that at home. Augustin is so hard to keep out of the paint, and that is what won them the game the first time we played, because we couldn't keep him in front of us in the last few minutes. Today, we felt like we had to switch it up, and we switched on ball screens and played some zone to try to slow down the pace of the game. I think early, they had the pace exactly where they wanted it to be. We wanted to run and create transition opportunities for ourselves, but we didn't want to get into a track meet on their home court. I thought early, they had the tempo exactly where they wanted it when it was 19-10 in the first half. We regained tempo from there on out and that is what gave us a chance. Abrams came up with two big shots against our zone late in the last three minutes.
TERREL HARRIS, JUNIOR GUARD
On his play on the road: On the road, I know my team needs me, and I know they need me all the time. On the road, you can say that it seems like I try to quiet the critics. I didn't play well on the road last year, so that was a main focus of mine for this year. It's just a little different on the road, because you have the fans going against you, which gets you more in an aggressive mode. I just play the game and let the game come to me, and whatever happens, it happens.
On going into the Big 12 Tournament: We have confidence, and we have a confident team. We just have to put it all together at one time during each game in the tournament.
OBI MUONELO, SOPHOMORE GUARD
On A.J. Abrams: He's a hard worker and he works hard to come off of screens and he never stops moving. He's really quick, and he gets his shot off extremely fast, and it's really hard to guard him. As the game goes on, you think he's done and he's gone cold, and then all of a sudden, he warms up really quick and hits a couple of shot. He's very tough to stay with.
On the team's momentum going into the Big 12 Tournament: We definitely do have some momentum going in. We played hard all of these games, whether we won or lost the games. Today, we played Texas very close, and I think we have a chance to go the tournament and make some noise. We're excited about going to the tournament and we're going to take it one game at a time and we're still confident.
