BY MARCUS HENRY
Five overtimes. Baylor and Texas A&M needed a Big 12-record five overtimes to determine a winner. No, you don't have to rub your eyes, because that wasn't a misprint, Baylor needed five overtimes to top host Texas A&M, 116-110. Multiple overtime games in college football have almost become the norm. But not in basketball. Overtime and double overtime basketball games happen. Anything after that is an extreme rarity.
"Everyone's going to have great stats after this as far as averages," Baylor coach Scott Drew joked in an audio clip on the Texas A&M athletics website.
Unfortunately, the game wasn't televised nationally.
The game was significant for several reasons. For one: I don't remember seeing a basketball game go five overtimes on any level. I've been covering basketball on every level for over 10 years, so it's possible there was a game that went 5 OTs. Right now, I can't recall one.
Another significant aspect of this game is that the Baylor Bears entered the contest as the 25th-ranked team in the latest AP Poll. The last time the Bears were ranked was in 1969. It would've been a shame to see them lose their very first game after finally breaking through. The win also allowed Baylor (16-2, 4-0 BIG 12) to keep pace with undefeated Kansas (19-0, 4-0) in the conference. The loss dropped No.18 Texas A&M to 1-3 in the conference.
Curtis Jerrells scored a career-high 36 points, including 11 in the fifth overtime to lead Baylor.
A couple of oddities surrounding this game: The teams combined for just 30 turnovers. Baylor had 16 and Texas A & M had 14 (Hofstra had 22 in its lost to VCU)...Texas A&M went 36-for-59 from the line. Baylor shot 39-for-47...Eight players fouled out. Five for Baylor, three for Texas A&M...It was Baylor's fifth straight win and Texas A&M's third straight loss...Three A&M players played 56 minutes or more...Four Baylor players played 42 minutes or more...It was the first time Texas A&M and Baylor played each other as ranked teams...
For those who don't remember, this was a Baylor program that was left in total disarray after murder of forward Patrick Dennehy in the summer of 2004. Dennehy's decomposed body was found in a gravel pit near Waco, Texas. on July 25, 1004. Teammate Carlton Dotson plead guilty to shooting and killing Dennehy, June 8, 2005.