WACO, Texas _ Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades stepped in front of Bill Self and extended his right hand, offering congratulations to the Kansas basketball coach as Self exited the Ferrell Center interview room following the Jayhawks' 64-61 victory over the Bears.
"I was just telling somebody this _ let's just go and make it a best-of-three in Kansas City. That'd be fun," Self, KU's 17-year coach told Rhoades, who also undoubtedly would enjoy a tie-breaking third game between the teams in the Big 12 tournament finale on March 14 in the Sprint Center.
KU senior center Udoka Azubuike scored 23 points on 11-of-13 shooting and grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds (with three blocked shots) in a clutch Saturday road performance that helped No. 3-ranked KU move into a tie for first place in the Big 12 standings with No. 1-ranked Baylor.
The Bears (24-2, 13-1) defeated the Jayhawks (24-3, 13-1) 67-55 on Jan. 11 in Allen Fieldhouse.
"The kids are excited. They deserve to be. It was a great game," Self said of a marquee showdown in which KU led by as many as 11 points in the second half only to see Baylor fight until the end.
Jared Butler's last-second three _ one that would have forced overtime _ was well guarded by Devon Dotson (13 points, three assists, two steals, two turnovers) and misfired at the buzzer.
"I think it means a lot to our guys, a lot more than the league race. We didn't talk league race," said Self, who was part of a wild victory celebration in the locker room that included his slapping hands with Azubuike.
Both men wore big smiles.
"They beat us the first time at home," Self said. "They controlled the game at home a lot more than they controlled the game here. We were motivated to play a highly-competitive game in a great atmosphere with a lot of eyeballs watching."
Seven-foot center Azubuike acknowledged that he "was kind of emotional" after the game. He piled up his impressive stat line in 36 minutes. Backup big man David McCormack had four points and one rebound in four foul-plagued minutes.
"A lot of people say, 'Can't do this or do that,' all my life," said Delta, Nigeria native Azubuike, who had just six points in the first meeting between KU and BU in Lawrence.
"I have been looked down on everything. Giving it all to my teammates makes me emotional. Coming in (to the game) people were saying all kind of stuff, doubting me and stuff. My teammates did a good job giving me the ball."
Azubuike didn't point out where the criticism came from. Certainly not from KU's camp.
"He was great. That's about as well overall as I've seen him play," Self said, adding, "he probably made himself a little bit of money today (with several NBA scouts watching). He had nine dunks (actually eight), which is incredible. Dot (Dotson) gave him a couple. Marcus (Garrett, nine points, seven assists , four rebounds, 32 minutes) gave him several. He's able to finish as well as anybody when the ball is above the rim."
Garrett, whose foul trouble prevented him from guarding Butler (19 points, six rebounds, six assists) as much as planned, said Azubuike was "unbelievable, protecting the rim, catching lobs, scoring when he got the ball down low, offensive rebounds, everything."
Baylor had its 23-game winning streak snapped by the Jayhawks, who have won 12 in a row now. The Bears didn't quit when trailing by 11 points (48-37) with 11:43 left. It was 52-44 at the 7:48 mark and 62-55 with 32 seconds to play. Butler hit a three and, after a turnover on Ochai Agbaji against the press, MaCio Teague drilled a three to cut the gap to 62-61 at with 18 seconds remaining.
Isaiah Moss, who scored 11 points, hit two free throws with eight seconds left to make it 64-61. Needing a stop on the final Baylor possession, KU coach Self elected to not foul. Butler, well-guarded by Dotson, hoisted an errant last-second three.
"We talked about, 'What do you want to do: foul or guard them?' We said, 'Let's guard 'em,'" Self said, noting that he didn't want to chance Baylor making one free throw and then grabbing an offensive rebound.
"Fortunately he missed the shot, but he was guarded."
Garrett said Dotson did a fine job on the final shot by Butler, who was 4 of 10 from three-point range.
"Great defense by Devon. He kept a hand in his face," Garrett said. "He tried to make him take a tough shot, play up so if he did go by he'd have to make a layup."
Noted Dotson: "We knew they'd try to take a three. I wanted to make it tough on him, get a hand in the face. We talked it out, communicated, hoping it didn't go in. I tried to contest as well as I could the last play."
Butler took the missed shot in stride, saying, "It wasn't super-wide open, but it was a good-enough look. I'm really thankful for coach (Scott) Drew allowing me to shoot the ball. I guess it just wasn't supposed to go in, but I thought it was supposed to go in."
Self was bothered by his team's failure to put away the Bears _ "We had a bad turnover, a bad one late. The game is never over, but, gosh dang, we made a couple mistakes you can't make. Still, we kept grinding. Gosh, we competed. The guys hung in there. As you can tell, I'm a little wired and fired up. I know our kids are fired up. They deserve to be."
KU, now deadlocked with Baylor, will next meet Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. Monday in Allen Fieldhouse. Baylor, meanwhile, will meet Kansas State Tuesday in Waco.
"I liked the first game against Kansas better than this one," Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the game. "But, that's the great thing about the league. You get to play everybody twice and make adjustments."
In this case, as Self told Baylor athletic director Rhoades, the squads could meet again in Kansas City.
Or ...
"I told coach Self before the game that I hope we see them again, but I hope it's in the Final Four," Drew said. "I thought it was a great showcase for the Big 12 today. You had two teams play extremely hard. I'm proud of how we battled back at the end."
