Big 12 and SEC settle for a 5-5 tie in Big 12-SEC Challenge

Despite winning the marquee matchup of the Big 12-SEC Challenge on Saturday, the Big 12 failed to win the event for the first time in four seasons, settling for a 5-5 split.

No. 2 Kansas earned a 79-73 win at No. 4 Kentucky, while Kansas State lost 70-58 at Tennessee. A look at the other eight games:

No. 5 Baylor 78, Mississippi 75: Manu Lecomte scored 17 points, Johnathan Motley and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. each added 16 in the Bears’ road comeback win.

Baylor (20-1) rallied from a 15-point deficit in the first half to win its fifth straight game. The Bears trailed 50-40 early in the second half, but pushed ahead to take their first lead at 56-54 with 10:25 left after Motley made a pair of free throws.

It was a close game from that point forward. Lecomte hit a decisive 3-pointer with 23 seconds left that made it 78-72 and sent many of the Ole Miss fans to the exits.

Ole Miss (12-9) dominated early on and jumped out to a 33-18 lead with 6:33 remaining in the first half. Sebastian Saiz and freshman Breein Tyree both scored 20 points for the Rebels. That was a career high for Tyree.

No. 18 West Virginia 81, Texas A&M 77: Jevon Carter had 19 points and nine rebounds, and the host Mountaineers held off a furious rally by the Aggies..

West Virginia opened a 51-31 lead on Daxter Miles Jr.’s three-pointer early in the second half. But the Mountaineers needed two free throws by Esa Ahmad with 4.4 seconds left to finish off the Aggies.

Ahmad went 6 for 12 at the line and finished with 14 points. Miles scored 10 points for West Virginia (17-4), which was coming off an 85-69 win against No. 2 Kansas on Tuesday.

Carter made four three-pointers and also had two steals in 34 minutes.

Admon Gilder scored 24 points for the Aggies (11-9), and Tyler Davis had 19 points and 18 rebounds. JC Hampton went 5 for 6 from 3-point range and finished with 21 points.

No. 25 Florida 84, Oklahoma 52: Kevarrius Hayes scored a career-high 20 points to help the Gators win in Norman, Okla.

Canyon Barry scored 15 points and Devin Robinson had 13 for the Gators (16-5), who have won two in a row since dropping consecutive games to South Carolina and Vanderbilt.

Rashard Odomes scored 13 points for the Sooners (8-12), and Kameron McGusty had 10.

Auburn 88, TCU 80: Freshman Austin Wiley scored a season-high 25 points and the host Tigers (14-7) won in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge for the first time in four tries.

Alex Robinson scored 20 for the Horned Frogs (14-7), who have lost a season-high four straight games since getting over .500 in Big 12 play for the first time in the school’s fifth season in the league.

Vanderbilt 84, Iowa State 78: Luke Kornet scored 21 points, and the host Commodores (10-11) stopped a skid by holding off the Cyclones (13-7).

Vanderbilt came in having lost five of its last six in the SEC. The one win was an upset at then-No. 19 Florida a week ago only to blow a 15-point lead in a loss to Arkansas on Tuesday night.

Monte Morris led Iowa State with 25 points before fouling out. Donovan Jackson added 16 points off the bench, Matt Thomas had 14 and Deonte Burton 13. Nazareth Mitrou-Long, who came in averaging 15.9 points per game, had only four.

Oklahoma State 99, Arkansas 71: Jeffrey Carroll scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Phil Forte had 18 points and six assists, and the host Cowboys (13-8) routed the Razorbacks (16-5).

Forte, a sixth-year senior, shot 4 of 9 from 3-point range to become just the seventh Big 12 player ever to reach 300 made 3-pointers. He also broke the Oklahoma State school record of 299 set by Keiton Page from 2008-12.

Georgia 59, Texas 57: Yante Maten scored 21 points and J.J. Frazier overcame poor first-half shooting with 14 to lead the host Bulldogs (13-8) past the Longhorns (8-13).

Jarrett Allen’s last-second shot for Texas rolled off the rim.

Texas Tech 77, LSU 64: Zach Smith scored 25 points as the host Red Raiders (15-6) downed the Tigers (9-11).

This story was originally published January 28, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Big 12 and SEC settle for a 5-5 tie in Big 12-SEC Challenge."