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Durant leads Texas against Baylor in Big 12

Mar 9, 2007 - 3:53 PM Baylor (15-15) at No. 14 Texas (22-8) 9:20 pm EST

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- Kevin Durant will have a chance to test his ankle before the NCAA Tournament

The highly touted freshman leads No. 14 Texas in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament against Baylor on Friday.

In Saturday's 90-86 loss at Kansas, Durant suffered a sprained left ankle in the second half. However, he returned and finished with 32 points, the third straight game in which he reached the 30-point mark.

The third-seeded Longhorns, who have won six of their last seven games, are aiming to make the semifinals for the eighth time in their last 11 tournament appearances They are 6-1 in Big 12 tourney quarterfinal contests.

Baylor, the 11th seed, used some blistering shooting to reach this contest after posting a 97-83 win over Missouri on Thursday.

Curtis Jerrells scored a career-high 31 points and Henry Dugat added 25 points as the 11th-seeded Bears won their first Big 12 Tournament game since 2001. Baylor shot 63 percent (34-of-54) and made 20-of-32 attempts from 3-point range.

The Longhorns won both regular-season meetings from the Bears by a combined six points.

The winner faces either Texas A&M or Baylor.