Texas pulls off STUNNING upset of third-ranked Kansas with 76-56 romp in Big 12 title game

The Texas Longhorns have booked their ticket to the big ball just two months after firing head coach Chris Beard over domestic abuse allegations, which have since been dropped.

Dylan Disu overcame early foul trouble to score 18 points, Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice each added 17, and seventh-ranked Texas silenced a pro-Kansas crowd with a 76-56 win over the Jayhawks. third-placed, in the Big 12. Tournament title game on Saturday night.

After going more than two decades without a Big 12 championship, the Longhorns (26-8) have won two of the past three and likely finished with a No. 2 seed in next week’s NCAA Tournament with their performance in Kansas City.

With interim coach Rodney Terry in the lead, the Longhorns built a 39-33 halftime lead, stretched it to 20 down the stretch and slid into a shower of confetti during a net-cutting celebration.

Jalen Wilson scored 24 points and Joseph Yesufu, strained in the starting lineup due to injuries, finished with 11 for the Jayhawks (27-7), who had won 13 of their previous 16 trips to the Big 12 finals.

The Longhorns have booked their ticket to the big ball just two months after firing head coach Chris Beard (pictured) over domestic abuse allegations, which have since been dropped.

The question now is whether the defending national champions did enough before Saturday night to earn the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, and with it a favorable path through Kansas City in the regional round.

Kansas was once again without Hall of Fame coach Bill Self, who went to the emergency room on the eve of the quarterfinals for an undisclosed medical procedure. Self’s long-time assistant and acting coach, Norm Roberts, once again called the shots off the bench for the championship game.

On the other side was Terry, who certainly didn’t expect to be pulling the strings for Texas. But when Beard was fired for an off-field incident earlier in the season, the former Fresno State and UTEP coach not only held his talented team together, but led him to a second-place finish in the regular season.

Right behind the Jayhawks, who were also defending Big 12 Tournament champions.

Both teams were missing starters Saturday night due to injuries (Kevin McCullar Jr. for the Jayhawks, Timmy Allen for the Longhorns), but there was still plenty of star power on display inside the T-Mobile Center.

Wilson, the league’s player of the year, kept the Jayhawks afloat during a scattered first half. He scored 17 points, more than half his total, while hitting the glass and even pulling off a steal.

Meanwhile, Texas relied on depth and balance to carve out a 39-33 halftime lead. He had to do it after losing Disu, who had already been a revelation in the previous two rounds, to a pair of fouls in less than eight minutes of play.

When the big man returned, he went to work. Disu had a pair of baskets in the opening minutes, and a nearly five-minute drought by Kansas allowed the Longhorns to extend their lead to 53-41 with 12 minutes to go.

At the time, around 500 Texas fans sounded like 15,000. And around 15,000 Kansas fans were silent.

The knockout punch came moments later, when baskets from Disu canceled out one from Rice, and Arterio Morris delivered an ally-oop dunk. That pushed the Longhorns’ lead to 70-50 with 4 1/2 minutes to go, and though Roberts eventually called a timeout to slow the attack, he was too late to make a difference.

Beard is the leading candidate to take over as head men’s basketball coach at Ole Miss, and the school is doing its ‘due diligence’ on the former Texas coach, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Multiple reports Monday said the two sides had discussed the job, which was left open when Ole Miss fired Kermit Davis on February 24. Ole Miss finished their season at just 12-21.

Beard was fired from Texas on January 5 after an alleged incident of domestic violence was reported in December. He was initially suspended indefinitely without pay.

The charges against Beard were dropped on February 15.

Texas Longhorns interim coach Rodney Terry plunges into a pile of players celebrating the Big 12 Championship after the game against the Kansas Jayhawks at the T-Mobile Center

Arterio Morris #2 of the Texas Longhorns drives to the basket against Gradey Dick #4 of the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half of the Big 12 Tournament Championship game at T-Mobile Center on Saturday

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said at the time that “our office has determined that the felony cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Beard was arrested on December 12 and charged with Assault by Strangulation/Choking: Family Violence in an alleged incident with his fiancee, Randi Trew.

At first, Trew called 911 and told officers that Beard choked her from behind to the point where she was unable to breathe for several seconds.

A police affidavit listed several visible signs of an altercation, including bite marks on his arm and abrasions on his face and leg.

Trew initially told police Beard “choked me, bit me, bruised my whole leg, threw me, and drove me crazy,” according to the affidavit, though he later clarified that he never intended Beard to be arrested. and processed.

Texas Longhorns players celebrate after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks at the T-Mobile Center

In a statement, he did not mention why he called 911 or several of the physical injuries described in the police report.

The third-degree felony charge the former Texas head coach faced carried a potential sentence of up to 10 years in prison if prosecutors had taken the case to a conviction.

Beard went 112-55 in five seasons as head coach at Texas Tech before being hired by Texas, his alma mater.

He led the 2018-19 Red Raiders to the NCAA Tournament title game, falling to Virginia 85-77 in overtime.

At Texas, Beard went 29-13 in parts of two seasons. The Longhorns were 7-1 this season before Beard was suspended in December.