Before Syracuse and Connecticut went six overtimes in the Big East tournament, Baylor and Oklahoma State blew the Big 12 wide open.
The Bears bumped off 11th-ranked Kansas in one quarterfinal and the Cowboys bounced No. 6 Oklahoma, leaving the conference without its top two seeds.
In New York, the No. 18 Orange outlasted the third-ranked Huskies in the second-longest Division I game ever, capping a Big East tournament quarterfinal doubleheader in which the second- and third-ranked teams in the country both lost.
Andy Rautins hit a 3-pointer 10 seconds into the sixth overtime Thursday night, giving the Orange their first lead since regulation and they went on to a 127-117 victory over the third-ranked Huskies.
The game started at 9:36 Thursday night on the East Coast and didn’t finish until 1:22 Friday morning, with most of the sellout crowd of 19,375 still in the seats, or at least standing in front of them, for the sixth overtime.
2, 3, 6 and 11 teams.
Earlier, West Virginia toppled No. 2 Pittsburgh 74-60, and Georgia Tech, the last-place team in the ACC, rose up to beat No. 17 Clemson in the opening round, led by Lewis Clinch’s career-high 32 points.
Clinch made five 3-pointers to carry the Yellow Jackets (12-18) in Atlanta; Tech went 2-14 in the ACC during the regular season, including a pair of losses to the Tigers. He capped his performance with a pair of clinching free throws, eclipsing his career high of 30 points against Miami just eight days earlier.
Fourth-ranked Memphis hung on for a sloppy 51-41 win over Tulane.
It was hard to top Baylor for a stunner, though – at least until the marathon at Madison Square Garden.
LaceDarius Dunn hit six 3-pointers and scored 24 points to lead a late surge as Baylor rallied after blowing a 17-point lead to stun Kansas, 71-64. The three-time defending champion Jayhawks (25-7) led by five before Dunn fueled a decisive 12-0 run for the Bears (19-13).
Kansas became only the second top-seeded team to lose its opening game at the Big 12 tournament. Baylor was also responsible for the other upset, beating Iowa State in 2001.
For Oklahoma State, James Anderson hit two free throws with 2.3 seconds left and the Cowboys won 71-70 in front of a divided Oklahoma City crowd.
sing streak against Oklahoma (27-5) and all but clinched an NCAA tournament berth.
Blake Griffin had 17 points and 19 rebounds for Oklahoma, but was whistled for fouling Anderson as several players tussled for a rebound after a missed shot by Eaton in the final seconds.
After Anderson’s free throws, Griffin caught a long pass from his brother Taylor Griffin, but missed a well-guarded 3-point attempt. Tony Crocker missed a follow shot.
The clock didn’t start until after Griffin’s shot, and officials used television replays to determine that time had expired.
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