Texas basketball squeezed out a tight win over No. 9 Baylor 75-73 with a buzzer-beater layup by junior guard Tyrese Hunter, securing its second win in Big 12 play.
With a minor lead of 73-70 with 14 seconds left in the game, Baylor was able to make a necessary three-pointer to tie the game 73-73. With five seconds on the clock and no timeout being called, Texas inbounded the ball and passed it to Hunter who immediately sprinted down the court to put up a layup that hit the net when the final buzzer rang.
“[Hunter] really set the tone for everyone else,” head coach Rodney Terry said after the game. “It’s really who he is and (what) his identity should be moving forward. (I’m) proud of the way he played for us, proud of the way our guys played, proud of the way they responded and God’s good.”
The Longhorns three-point shooting was a major contributor to the win. Baylor displayed a strong defense consisting of a full-court press for a majority of the game and intensity around the hoop made it difficult for Texas to score in the paint. Texas had to rely heavily on shooting in the first half and luckily for them, it seemed to be on point, going 9-11 for three-pointers.
However, the Texas squad proved the recurring theme of coming across as a lesser version of itself in the second half. Its shooting was substantially worse, with leading scorers Hunter and graduate guard Max Abmas unable to hit the shots that were falling so easily before halftime. Texas did not make a single three-pointer in the second half. On the defensive end, Texas left holes creating a few easy scoring opportunities for Baylor that ultimately kept it such a close game.
After suffering an upsetting loss to UCF earlier in the week, Hunter stressed that unity was an important step the team needed to take to bounce back.
“I feel like in order for us to be a successful team, we have to be together and that’s what we stressed this whole week,” Hunter said. “Everything we do is for each other. When we play for each other, play for our team, play for the coaching staff, then we feel like we can beat any team in the country.”
Terry also believed that one key factor that benefited the team was the crowd. The Moody Center was packed with students and fans that created a sea of burnt orange energy that radiated through the arena.
“Shout out to our crowd,” Terry said. “Our crowd was terrific today. Our students showed up today at a very high level. Longhorn Nation was here.”
Both Texas and Baylor finished with an impressive 51.9% and 47.9% from field goal range, and 47.4% and 50% from the three-point line, respectively.
Hunter finished out as the top scorer for Texas with 21 points with graduate forward Dylan Disu following with 19 points and two steals. Abmas scored 15 points and led the team with seven assists.
With an impressive top 10 win under its belt, Texas hopes to move back into the AP Poll that it was recently knocked out of. However, the Longhorns will have their work cut out for them as they take on No. 15 Oklahoma on Jan. 23 at 6 p.m. in Norman.
