Sir'Jabari Rice on the Big 12: 'It's the best league in the country'

Texas guard Sir’Jabari Rice believes the Big 12 to be the best conference in all of college basketball. Following a 76-71 victory against No. 11 Baylor on Monday, Rice wasn’t shy about sharing that sentiment in a postgame interview with ESPN’s Kris Budden.

“It’s a great league,” he said. “It’s probably the best league in the country if you ask me. Very physical. I’m very blessed to be out here and be able to play against these athletes every day.”

It’s hard to argue with Sir’Jabari Rice’s take, as the Big 12 currently has five teams ranked in the AP poll. No team in the conference has an overall record under .500, and the league is projected to get seven teams in the NCAA Tournament according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. That isn’t counting Oklahoma and Oklahoma State either, both listed among Lunardi’s first eight teams outside the field.

The talent of the conference was on display Monday as the Longhorns and Bears went down to the wire in a matchup of top 15 teams. Baylor pulled within a point after an and-one opportunity for Keyonte George with 51 seconds left. However, the Longhorns answered back with a clutch jumper from Marcus Carr followed by a defensive stop to secure the win.

“I think coach Terry kind of stressed defense on us from the last game against Tennessee,” Rice said. “All five came out in the game and started to play defense. We just kind of fed off it on the bench. We all just was able to play defense and we were really locked in on defense and that helped out the offense.”

The Longhorns held Baylor to just 25-of-68 (36.8%) shooting in the win. They also limited the Bears to just two 3-pointers in the second half after allowing six in the first. Rice led the Longhorns with 21 points off the bench, providing a huge spark in the big-time win. It marked the second straight 20-plus point game for the New Mexico State transfer.

“Just being more aggressive,” he said of his mindset. “My teammates telling me to be more aggressive. They’re trusting me a lot more. Coaches are trusting me a lot more. Just trusting my work that I put in every day.”

With the talent of the Big 12, Texas will have plenty more opportunities for wins like this as the season nears its final month. That begins Saturday with a road matchup against No. 7 Kansas State.