Rodney Terry provides mindset with Big 12 conference title on the line

The Texas Longhorns picked up another big win on Tuesday night when they defeated the Iowa State Cyclones 72-54. And with a huge matchup looming at the end of the season with Kansas, the Longhorns have a legitimate chance at winning the Big 12 regular season title.

But before they look too far into the future, Texas has a massive upcoming road game against another in-state former national championship team, the Baylor Bears. After the victory against Iowa State, Texas head coach Rodney Terry talked about his mindset with the matchup looming and a Big 12 conference title hanging in the balance.

“Well, I think this group’s done a great job of just attacking what’s in front of us,” said Terry. “Tonight was a big game for us because it was the next game in front of us. Obviously, we have a lot of respect for Scott Drew and Baylor. Baylor’s really, really good. They’re one of the better teams in the country — a top-ten team in the country. When you talk about perimeter scoring, they’ve added another big that was injured earlier. I mean, they’re as good of a team that you’re going to play in the country.”

The tough road ahead of Texas

Texas and Kansas are sitting atop the Big 12 at 11-4 in conference play. However, the Longhorns’ road to that matchup to end the season is arguably much more formidable. Texas has two road games before they defend their homecourt against Kansas. And those games will be against ranked in-state rivals Baylor and TCU. So it goes without saying that Terry wants his team to continue the process of taking each challenge one game at a time.

“Our guys have done a great job of really understanding; you can have this game with you for one night, win or lose. And then, it’s on to another elite-level team that you have to play in this league. And we have an incredible challenge on the road playing one of the best teams in the country in Baylor. Kansas has had a great year; they have a great team. But we’re not playing Kansas right now; we’re playing Baylor on Saturday. And last I checked, they’ve won a national championship, and they have an elite-level coach that does a great job preparing these guys to compete at a high level.”

Texas versus Baylor will be another exciting, action-packed Big 12 matchup between top-ranked programs in the nation. The Longhorns will travel to Waco, TX, to take on the Bears in their home arena at the Ferrell Center on Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT tip-off time and will air on ESPN.