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Kansas beats Texas in OT, wins 20th Big 12 title
The Kansas Jayhawks players celebrate with the Big 12 Trophy after the win over the Texas Longhorns. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

No. 6 Kansas beats No. 21 Texas in OT, wins 20th Big 12 title

With the conference title on the line, Kansas was going to do whatever it took to win on Saturday. The fact that it was Senior Day only added to that.

The No. 6 Jayhawks fought off No. 21 Texas in overtime, winning 70-63 in the final game in Allen Fieldhouse this season. Kansas has now won 39 straight home finales, dating back to the 1983-84 season.

The win also clinched at least a share of the conference title for the Jayhawks. Since the Big 12's inception in 1996, Kansas has now won at least a share of 20 of 26 conference titles. Over Bill Self's 19 seasons in Lawrence, Kansas has won 16 of 19.

It seemed for much of the game that the Jayhawks may fumble the opportunity and lose on Senior Day for the first time in nearly four decades. They went back and forth with the Longhorns over the first 20 minutes, ending the half with a 35-33 lead.

The pace slowed down tremendously in the second half, but things were just as even. Neither team opened more than a two-possession advantage, and the lead switched hands several times. David McCormack hit both free throws with 3:11 left, and Kansas led by one.

That's when things got exciting — although, the scoreboard wouldn't tell you that. Kansas and Texas bolted down on defense the rest of the way, as no one scored again until Courtney Ramey hit a free throw to tie it up at 57-57 with under a minute to play. The defense picked up again, however, as Texas couldn't score again and Kansas couldn't get a shot off in the final seconds, though, Jalen Coleman-Lands' shot after the buzzer banked in.

The teams were tied with under two minutes left in overtime until McCormack hit two foul shots to take the lead — one the Jayhawks wouldn't surrender. Jalen Wilson hit two more free throws, but the Longhorns answered with two of their own. Leading by two, Kansas was in danger of turning it over in transition until Ochai Agbaji found McCormack open underneath the rim for a huge slam.

The moment from that play was enough to put the game on ice. Christian Braun made a free throw, then Agbaji knocked down two more in the final seconds to seal the win in his final home game.

McCormack led all scorers with 22 points and reeled in 10 rebounds. Wilson had 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Braun logged 13 points and 11 boards.

Ramey led Texas with 18 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Jones added 12 points and six rebounds, while Timmy Allen logged nine points, four rebounds and four assists.

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