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Mizzou wins Big 12 tourney, awaits NCAA seed

Mar 11, 2012 - 3:44 AM Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Missouri took care of its part, winning the Big 12 Tournament for the second time in four years -- and for the last time.

Now, the Tigers will wait to see if their final Big 12 title means a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.

Kim English scored 19 points, Michael Dixon had 17 and No. 5 Missouri beat No. 12 Baylor, 90-75, on Saturday.

Ricardo Ratliffe, Phil Pressey and Marcus Denmon all scored 15 points for the Tigers (30-4), who will likely be vying for a No. 1 seed in the upcoming NCAA tourney with fellow Big 12 powerhouse and No. 3 Kansas.

The Jayhawks, seeded No. 1 in the conference tournament, split two games with Missouri during the regular season but lost to Baylor by nine points in the semifinals on Friday.

At least some of the Missouri coaches and players believe they deserve a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.

"It's the respect factor. We went 30-4 and finished a game out of winning the Big 12 outright," said English. "And we eventually came here and took care of business."

The Bears (27-7) are also a lock to make the NCAAs after a spectacular season, but their bid for a first-ever Big 12 Tournament title fell short. They lost to Missouri in the 2009 final.

Perry Jones III had 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead Baylor and Brady Heslip scored 14.

"I think it's a good learning experience for our team, and because of this I think it will prepare us for the NCAA Tournament," said Bears coach Scott Drew. "And at the end of the day can't dwell about this loss. Gotta shake it off because tomorrow we find out on who we're playing (and) where we're playing."

Missouri, which is moving to the SEC next season, beat Baylor for the third time this season, shooting nearly 54 percent from the floor and hitting nine three pointers.

The second-seeded Tigers have won five in a row overall since a loss to Kansas on Feb. 25. They finished 2-3 all-time in Big 12 championship games.

Forced to play catch-up after Missouri opened the game on a 12-4 run, Baylor never led. The Bears cut their deficit to one point near the midway point of the first half, but Ratliffe's three-point play was followed by English's trey for a 26-19 Missouri lead.

The Tigers carried a 43-37 lead into the break, then built a 14-point advantage with less than 4 1/2 minutes gone in the second half on Pressey's tip-in.

Later, Baylor was within five on Quincy Acy's free throws with 2:20 left, but Pressey also made two at the other end and Pierre Jackson turned the ball over for the Bears, leading to two Dixon foul shots and quickly increasing Mizzou's lead to nine at 81-72.

It reached as high as 15 points down the stretch.

Game Notes

Baylor's top-ranked an undefeated women's team captured the Big 12 tournament title earlier Saturday with a 23-point win over Texas A&M.