Mar 10, 2007, 17:20 GMT
Oklahoma City, OK - In a rematch of the 2004 title game, the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys meet the 15th-ranked and third-seeded Texas Longhorns in today's Big 12 Tournament semifinal round matchup from the Ford Center. The survivor of this bout moves on to face either Kansas or Kansas State in the championship game on Sunday.
The Cowboys fell apart late in the regular season, losing eight of their last 10 games to finish 6-10 in league play. The team, however, was able to pull it together just in time, as it defeated 10th-seeded Nebraska (54-39) in the opening round of this event before pulling the upset of seventh-ranked and second-seeded Texas A&M (57-56) in the semifinals on Friday. With a pair of wins, OSU improved to 15-8 all-time in this event, as it remains in the hunt for its third Big 12 Tournament title in the last four years.
As for Texas, it earned an opening-round bye with its 12-4 league finish during the regular season. The team made its first appearance in this tourney on Friday, scoring a 74-69 win over 11th-seeded Baylor. It was 20th straight win over Baylor by the Horns, who are making their eighth appearance in the semifinals of this event. Texas has reached the finals of the Big 12 Tournament two of the last three years and three times overall, but it has never won the title.
The Longhorns and Cowboys split a pair of meetings during the regular season, leaving Texas with a 35-34 edge in the all-time series.
Mario Boggan converted a lay-up with 11.5 seconds left, lifting OSU to a thrilling one-point upset of Texas A&M on Friday. Boggan finished with 11 points for the second straight game in this event, and he also grabbed five rebounds. OSU converted 11-of-12 free-throw attempts and forced Texas A&M into 13 turnovers. After two games, the Cowboys are allowing just 47.5 ppg in this tourney and that is shocking considering they are giving up 70.5 ppg on the season. On the other hand, OSU is netting just 55.5 ppg itself and that is well below its season average of 75.7 ppg. Boggan is the squad's top scorer (19.2 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 rpg) on the season, and he is the only player on the team's to score in double figures in each game of this event. JamesOn Curry has been held to nine points each of the first two games of the tournament and that is well under his season average of 17.3 ppg.
Kevin Durant scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half, as he helped Texas overcome an 18-point halftime deficit to Baylor in a five-point win. Durant, who also grabbed 13 rebounds, missed his first 12 shots of the game and scored just five first-half points. The Big 12 Freshman and Player of the Year, however, came out on fire in the second period and set a school record for points in a half in a Big 12 game with 24. He now has 783 points for the season, which is a new Texas single-season record. A.J. Abrams added 16 points for the 'Horns, who converted 22-of-30 free-throw attempts in the win. The story, however, was Durant, who is one of the elite players in the nation, averaging a double-double with 25.3 ppg and 11.5 rpg on the season. He also leads Texas in steals (58) and he is even shooting 42.4 percent from downtown. Abrams ranks second to him with 15.1 ppg, while D.J. Augustin adds 14.7 ppg and a team-high 6.7 apg. As a team, the 'Horns have thrived at the offensive end of the court this season as they are averaging a healthy 82.6 ppg on the strength of 40.0 percent shooting from three-point range.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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