Missouri bolts Big 12 with tourney banner
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It seemed as if everybody was rooting against Missouri, the school that nearly brought the Big 12 to ruin, and you can be sure coach Frank Haith and the rest of the Tigers heard them.
They made sure to leave a lasting impression on their way to the Southeastern Conference.
Kim English capped a phenomenal Big 12 Conference tournament with 19 points, Phil Pressey added 15 points and eight assists and the fifth-ranked Tigers beat No. 12 Baylor 90-75 on Saturday to win their second championship in the past four years.
"Obviously, it's special. To win championships is just special," Haith said. "We didn't win the regular-season championship, but we won a conference tournament championship."
English wound up 29 of 40 from the field in a virtuoso three-game performance in Kansas City, and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Michael Dixon added 17 points for the Tigers (30-4), while Ricardo Ratliffe and Marcus Denmon scored 15 each.
"Kim's play was unbelievable all weekend," Denmon said. "He really carried us."
Missouri's decision to leave for the SEC after this season drew outrage from fans of opposing teams, and all the fans from nine other schools that flocked to the Sprint Center seemed to be rooting hard against the school from just down Interstate 70.
Thousands of fans clad in black and gold in turn booed interim Big 12 commissioner Chuck Neinas when he gave away the trophy, and chants of "SEC! SEC!" arose in the closing minutes.
"There were roughly 18,000 people here -- it was packed. I would suggest 17,000 of those people were in black and gold," Missouri athletic director Mike Alden said. "So to suggest that Kansas City, Mo., is a Mizzou town, I can assure you, it absolutely was proof positive today."
Perry Jones III led Baylor (27-7) with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Brady Heslip scored 14 and Deuce Bello had 13 off the bench for the Bears, who were again turned away one win short of their first conference tournament title since 1950.
The Bears also lost to Missouri in the 2009 Big 12 title game.
"The biggest thing we haven't talked about is their experience, five seniors," Baylor coach Scott Drew said. "They've been through situations like this."
The teams waged two memorable games during the regular season, with Missouri winning both. The first was an 89-88 victory in Waco in January, when the Tigers hit 10 free throws in the closing minute to hold off a furious rally. The second was a 15-point victory in Columbia, a game that was nip and tuck until the Tigers went on a second-half charge.
This one wound up being a bit more like the second meeting.
The teams traded blows throughout the first half -- Denmon or English would hit a 3-pointer, then Jones or Quincy Miller would work inside for a matching bucket. The lead never reached double figures even though Missouri threatened a couple of times.
It wasn't until the final minutes before the half, when Denmon made a jumper and Pressey hit two foul shots, that Missouri had some breathing room.
That was part of a 16-5 thrust that spanned the break and gave the Tigers their biggest lead, 57-42, and forced Drew to use all but one of his timeouts.
Every time Baylor looked as if it would surge, Missouri kept finding answers. Pressey hit a 3-pointer from about 6 feet beyond the arc, and English followed with another from the same spot. English exhorted the crowd to rise to its feet with a chant of "M-I-Z, Z-O-U!"
Baylor went on one more spirited run, closing within 77-72 after a 10-2 spurt, but the Tigers took care of things from the free-throw line. They made 10 straight at one point in the closing minutes, putting a tidy bow on one final Big 12 championship.
AROUND THE NATION
BIG EAST
LOUISVILLE CLAIMS TITLE OVER CINCY -- At New York, Chris Smith scored 15 points, and seventh-seeded Louisville (26-9) withstood a closing surge by fourth-seeded Cincinnati (24-10) for a 50-44 victory that gave the Cardinals their second Big East tournament crown. The Cardinals won the title in 2009 and lost to UConn in last year's final. Cashmere Wright had 16 points for Cincinnati, which was in the championship for the first time.
ATLANTIC COAST
NO. 4 TAR HEELS SURVIVE WILD FINISH -- At Atlanta, Kendall Marshall banked in a shot with 10.2 seconds left and No. 4 North Carolina (29-4) edged rival North Carolina State 69-67 after a disputed finish, moving on to today's ACC final against Florida State. The Wolfpack (22-12) were upset about two noncalls in the final seconds, wanting an offensive foul against Marshall and then thinking Richard Howell was fouled on his potential tying shot with 1.2 seconds to play.
NO. 17 SEMINOLES NIP NO. 6 DUKE -- At Atlanta, Florida State (23-9) lost a 10-point lead before recovering for a 62-59 victory over No. 6 Duke (27-6), sending the Seminoles to the ACC final for the second time. Michael Snaer scored 16 points, including a 3-pointer with 3:27 remaining that gave Florida State the lead for good.
BIG TEN
NO. 8 SPARTANS RIP BADGERS -- At Indianapolis, Draymond Green compiled 14 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 8 Michigan State (26-7) to a 65-52 victory over No. 14 Wisconsin (24-9), putting the Spartans in the Big Ten final for the first time since 2000, today against No. 7 Ohio State.
BUCKEYES BLAST MICHIGAN -- At Indianapolis, Jared Sullinger scored 24 points to power No. 7 Ohio State (27-6) to a 77-55 rout of No. 10 Michigan (24-9), giving the Buckeyes a chance to play for their third straight Big Ten tournament title. Tim Hardaway Jr. led the Wolverines with 13 points.
SOUTHEASTERN
NO. 1 KENTUCKY EDGES FLORIDA -- At New Orleans, Anthony Davis had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and top-ranked Kentucky (32-1) held on for a 74-71 victory over No. 22 Florida (23-10) to reach today's SEC final against Vanderbilt. The Wildcats have won 24 games in a row, but have had to survive two straight tight games.
JENKINS FUELS VANDERBILT -- At New Orleans, John Jenkins scored 23 points, and Vanderbilt (23-10) gained a 65-53 victory over Mississippi (20-13) to reach its first SEC final since 1951.
