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  • No. 12 Oklahoma State Beats No. 2 Baylor to Face No. 13 Texas for Big 12 Title

No. 12 Oklahoma State Beats No. 2 Baylor to Face No. 13 Texas for Big 12 Title

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Basketball

No. 12/14 Oklahoma State advanced to the finals of the Big 12 Championship for the fourth time, and for the first time since 2005. The Cowboys are 2-1 in the Big 12 final, and brought home the championship trophy in 2004 and 2005.

OSU will take on No. 13/16 Texas, which advanced to the title game after No. 11/12 Kansas withdrew due to COVID-19 protocols. The two squads split the regular season meeting with the home team taking each game. The last matchup was an instant-classic, double-overtime thriller won by the Cowboys in Stillwater.

Historic Run
Oklahoma State's win over No. 2/2 Baylor was their sixth ranked win in the last 19 days. According to ESPN Stats & Info, that is the second-shortest span for six ranked wins in the AP Poll era (1948-49) behind only UConn's magical run to the 2011 NCAA title that included  six ranked wins in an 18-day span. On Feb. 13, the Cowboys were unranked, but have since won eight of nine games and have risen to No. 12 in the AP top-25. In this nine-game span, OSU has taken down four top-10 teams, and four of those wins came away from home. OSU is shooting 48.8 percent from the floor while holding opponents to 42.1 percent during this run. Cade Cunningham is averaging 22.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game on 49.6 percent shooting.

Anderson Can't Be Stopped
Avery Anderson III has emerged as a second scoring threat for OSU thanks to his speedy drives to the bucket and timely shooting. Over the last seven games, Anderson is averaging 17.0 points on 55.1 percent shooting, including a 40.0 percent (6-of-15) clip from 3-point. Anderson has scored 15 points or more in five of those seven games, including a 31-point game at No. 6 West Virginia and a 20-point game against No. 2 Baylor in the Big 12 Championship semifinal.

Record Rim Protection
Kalib Boone has rejected six shots in both games of the Big 12 Championship, which gives him 12 career blocks in conference tournament games - tops in school history. The sophomore passed Ivan McFarlin's 11 career blocks at the Big 12 Championship from 2002-05. His 12 blocks in the 2021 championship are also the most by a Cowboy at a single conference tournament. Boone is now tied for the Big 12 lead with 1.7 blocks per game on the year.