MaCio Teague scored 21 points to help propel No. 6 Baylor to a 59-44 win over visiting Texas on Saturday in the Big 12 opener for teams in Waco, Texas.
The Bears had to rely on their defense for much of the second half to pull off the victory, their 10th straight. Baylor missed 11 of its first 12 shots over the first nine minutes of the second as the Longhorns climbed to within 40-34 after trailing by 13 at the break.
But the Bears (11-1, 1-0) did enough to keep Texas at bay until they rediscovered their stride, and the Longhorns never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Both teams struggled from the field in the second half, with Baylor shooting just 22.6 percent and Texas hitting on 30.8 percent. The Bears still outscored Texas 23-21 after halftime.
Jared Butler added 13 points for the Bears, who outrebounded the Longhorns 48-36, including 19-10 on the offensive glass. Freddie Gillespie took 12 of those rebounds for Baylor.
Jericho Sims led the anemic Longhorns' offense, scoring 13 points and pulling down 15 rebounds, while Courtney Ramey hit for 11 points off the bench. Texas (10-3, 0-1), which went scoreless for nearly six minutes beginning at the 6:58 mark, converted just 3 of 16 3-pointers and 5 of 15 free throws.
Texas led 6-5 four minutes into the game before the Bears ran off a 13-2 run to take an 18-8 lead at the 11:44 mark of the first half. The Longhorns cut that deficit to 27-23 after a hook shot jumper by Sims with 2:57 left in the half, but Baylor scored the half's final nine points for a 36-23 lead at the break.
Teague led all scorers with 12 points in the half, while Andrew Jones, Matt Coleman III and Sims had six points each to pace Texas.
Texas entered the day off to its best 12-game start in the Shaka Smart coaching era.
--Field Level Media
Texas | Baylor | |
Jericho Sims 13 | Scoring | MaCio Teague 21 |
Kamaka Hepa 3 | Assists | Davion Mitchell 3 |
Jericho Sims 15 | Rebounds | Freddie Gillespie 12 |
Jase Febres 2 | Free Throws Made | MaCio Teague 9 |
Kamaka Hepa 2 | Steals | Mark Vital 2 |
Kamaka Hepa 2 | Blocks | Freddie Gillespie 4 |