The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
13-5,2-3Big 12
Baylor
14-4,3-2Big 12
Men's Basketball defeats No. 9/9 Baylor, 75-73, at the buzzer
01.20.2024 | Men's Basketball
Hunter hits the game-winning driving layup as time expires to lift the Longhorns on Saturday afternoon in Moody Center.
AUSTIN, Texas — Junior guard Tyrese Hunter recorded a team-high 21 points and hit the game-winning driving layup as time expired to lift Texas (13-5, 2-3 Big 12 Conference) to a dramatic 75-73 victory over No. 9/9 Baylor (14-4, 3-2 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd at Moody Center. This marked the third time this season that the Longhorns have hit a game-winning basket in the closing seconds, but the first true "buzzer beater" (no time remaining after a made shot) in program history since Javan Felix hit a 16-foot jumper as time expired in a 74-72 win over then-No. 3/3 North Carolina in the Frank Erwin Center on Dec. 12, 2015.
With the victory, Texas improved to 4-0 against AP Top 10 foes and 7-0 against AP Top 25 opponents all-time in games played at Moody Center. UT also moved to 11-2 under head coach Rodney Terry in contests decided by five points or less OR in overtime. The game featured 21 lead changes and 10 ties, and neither team led by more than eight points.
Hunter converted 8-of-13 field goals, including a season-best 4-of-7 from three-point range, along with three assists in 34 minutes. Graduate forward Dylan Disu registered 19 points (7-11 FG, 2-3 threes) and two steals in 24 minutes, and graduate forward Kadin Shedrick tallied 10 points (3-4 FG, 4-4 FT) and two blocks in 16 minutes.
Graduate guard Max Abmas posted 15 points (3-8 threes), tied a season high with seven assists against just one turnover, and grabbed five rebounds in 39 minutes. Abmas passed Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina (2,872) to move into the No. 16 spot on the all-time NCAA Division I career scoring list with 2,880 points.
A back-and-forth first half featured hot shooting from both teams along with 17 lead changes and four ties. Baylor tied the game at 23-23 following a Langston Love jumper at the 9:36 mark, before the Longhorns used a 13-5 run over the next four minutes to build a 36-28 advantage after a Disu three-pointer with 5:43 remaining.
A Shedrick dunk increased UT's cushion to 38-31 at the 4:00 mark, but the Bears responded with a 10-2 spurt over the next three-plus minutes to grab a 41-40 advantage following a Love jumper with 52 seconds left. An Abmas jumper with 39 seconds remaining gave Texas a 42-41 lead at the break. The Longhorns converted 62.0-percent (16-25) from the floor, including an impressive 9-of-11 (.818) from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes. Baylor hit 55.6-percent (15-27) from the field, including a 7-of-12 (.583) mark from beyond the arc, in the first half.
A Disu layup evened the score at 50-50 with 15:38 remaining, but the Bears scored six straight points to build a 56-50 cushion after a Love three-pointer at the 13:44 mark. Baylor took a 65-60 advantage following a pair of Ja'Kobe Walter free throws with 7:48 left, before the Longhorns used a 5-0 spurt to tie the contest at 65-65 after a Hunter free throw at the 4:57 mark.
A Love free throw gave the Bears a 66-65 cushion with 4:25 remaining, before Texas used a pair of Shedrick free throws and a Disu layup to take a 69-66 lead at the 3:18 mark. The Longhorns took a 73-70 lead after a pair of Abmas free throws with 14 seconds left, but Jalen Bridges knocked down a contested three-pointer with 5.1 seconds remaining to even the score at 73-73. Texas elected not to use a timeout, and Hunter received the ball in the backcourt on a dead sprint, drove the length of the court and hung in the air just long enough to bank in a layup at the buzzer.
Texas is back in action when it travels to face No. 15/16 Oklahoma on Tuesday, Jan. 23. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m. Central in the Noble Center, and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 75, #9/9 Baylor 73
January 20, 2024
Moody Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 11,163
Team Notes
- Tyrese Hunter converted the game-winning layup with no time remaining in the contest. This marked the first true game-winning "buzzer beater" (no time remaining after a made shot) in program history since Javan Felix hit a 16-foot jumper as time expired to lift the Longhorns to a 74-72 victory over No. 3/3 North Carolina in the Frank Erwin Center on Dec. 12, 2015.
- This marked the third contest this season (18 games) that the Longhorns have converted a game-winning basket in the closing seconds. Max Abmas knocked down the winner from the right elbow with 0.4 seconds remaining to top Louisville 81-80 on Nov. 19 in Madison Square Garden. Abmas also hit a jumper from the right baseline with 6.2 seconds left to win 74-73 at Cincinnati on Jan. 9.
- The Longhorns improved to 4-0 against AP Top 10 foes and 7-0 against AP Top 25 opponents in games played at Moody Center.
- UT improved to 11-2 under head coach Rodney Terry in games decided by five points or less OR in overtime.
- Rodney Terry improved to 9-8 against AP Top 25 opponents while at Texas.
- Texas improved to 26-3 all-time in games played in Moody Center, including a 10-2 record this season.
- Today's contest was played in front of a sellout crowd of 11,163 fans.
- Today's game included 21 lead changes and 10 ties.
- The Longhorns improved to 165-97 in the all-time series against Baylor. Texas improved to 91-34 against the Bears in games played in Austin during the series.
- Texas converted 51.9-percent (27-52) from the floor, including a 47.4-percent (9-19) mark from three-point range, during the victory.
- The Longhorns tallied 14 assists (on 27 made field goals) and committed just seven turnovers on the afternoon.
- UT tallied a 28-20 advantage in points in the paint, a 12-7 edge in second-chance points and a 13-2 margin in fast-break points.
- Texas converted 64.0-percent (16-25) from the floor, including an impressive 9-of-11 (.818) mark from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes.
- The first half featured 17 lead changes and four ties.
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the 18th time this year (18 games) and 130th time in his career (141 games)
- Has now reached double figures in scoring in 40 consecutive games
- Tied his season high in assists (7)
- Moved into the No. 16 spot on the NCAA all-time Division I career scoring list with 2,880 points in 141 games (passed Tyler Hansbrough of North Carolina at 2,872). Next up at No. 15 is Elvin Hayes (Houston) at 2,884.
- Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the fifth time this year (9 games) and 51st time in his career (120 games)
- Hit the game-winning shot on a driving layup as time expired.
- Topped the 20-point mark (team-high 21 points) for the third time this year (17 games) and ninth time in his career (90 games)
- Set his season high in three-point field goals made (4-7)
- Tied his season high in field goals made (8-13)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 13th time this year and 53rd time in his career
- In 18 minutes of action in the first half, he posted 14 points (5-7 FG, 4-4 threes) and three assists
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the ninth time this year (16 games) and 31st time in his career (92 games)
- Recorded a team-best plus-minus total of plus-7 in 19 minutes of action
