Chuck Carlton

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OKLAHOMA CITY – Two wins have made Baylor a great story at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship.

Two more can give the Bears a season to match.

For all the attention that followed Baylor's 71-64 win over top-seeded Kansas on Thursday, the Bears understand much work remains.

"We didn't come to get halfway there," Baylor senior Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff said.

The Bears' their only route to the NCAA Tournament is four wins in four days, something that has never happened in Big 12 tourney history.

Then again, with Oklahoma losing too, the bracket is doing its best to cooperate.

"This is Step 2 of what we're trying to do," senior guard Curtis Jerrells said.

Step 3 to reach Saturday's title game involves beating Texas today, something Baylor hasn't done in 24 tries during the Rick Barnes era.

Already, Baylor has been labeled as a feel-good underdog. Think Hoosiers transferred to Waco.

The team did make that pretournament pilgrimage to the Cox Convention Center this week. Scott Drew relived the one shining moment of younger brother Bryce Drew and Valparaiso against Ole Miss. All that was missing was a ladder and a tape measure to show the rims were 10 feet high.

The narrative has one big hole. The Bears are Cinderella by virtue of their 5-11 Big 12 record, not talent.

Before the wheels came off in the conference season and before the two-hour clear-the-air team meeting at Iowa State, the Bears had been ranked for seven consecutive weeks in The Associated Press poll.

They returned four starters from an NCAA team. As Texas' Rick Barnes noted, they were picked by the coaches to tie for third in the Big 12 – with Kansas, the 2008 national champions.

"We know we can be good," senior guard Curtis Jerrells said. "We know what kind of team we are."

Baylor seemed on the brink of giving away another game against Kansas. The Bears led by 17 points in the first half. Then came the anticipated Jayhawks comeback.

When Markieff Morris scored on a rebound, Kansas led, 56-51, and Baylor looked NIT bound.

Then LaceDarius Dunn made certain the Bears weren't done. The sophomore from Monroe, La., responded with 10 points in a 14-2 run. Baylor led by seven when Dunn took a pass from Henry Dugat and hit a 3-pointer in transition with 3:37 remaining.

Said Drew: "Just so you know, everyone knows when Lace is open. He makes sure everyone knows."

Kansas had one last chance for a tie. Guard Sherron Collins (6-of-20 shooting) failed to draw iron on a 3-point attempt.

While Dunn made six 3-pointers en route to 24 points, the Bears got several key contributions. Rogers added 14 points, including a clutch jump hook with 1:27 remaining.

Reserve center Mamadou Diene, who had scored 12 points since Jan. 1, hit all four of his field goal attempts. He finished with nine points, four rebounds and five blocks.

"A lot of people were counting us out coming into the tournament," Dugat said. "I don't think they expected us to make it this far. We knew what we were capable of and we knew we had to step it up."