Texas Basketball: 2 studs, 1 dud from last-second win vs. Baylor

Head coach Rodney Terry finally got his marquee win for Texas basketball in a huge spot against a top-10 ranked opponent at the Moody Center on Jan. 20. Texas topped the No. 9 ranked Baylor Bears in thrilling fashion at home this weekend, thanks to a buzzer-beating game-winner from junior guard Tyrese Hunter.

Senior forward Jalen Bridges had knocked down a clutch three-pointer with a little over five seconds remaining in the second half to tie things up at 73. Hunter then took a hand-off from senior big man Dylan Disu and ran down the floor for the game-winning basket as the clock hit zero.

Tyrese Hunter's game-winner gets Texas basketball the clutch win over No. 9 Baylor

Hunter's clutch game-winner gave the Longhorns the gigantic 75-73 win over head coach Scott Drew and the Bears. Texas handed Baylor its second straight loss in Big 12 play while snapping a two-game losing streak of its own.

It's hard to overstate how important this win is for Terry and the Longhorns. Texas needed any form of a confidence boost it could get after falling to unranked conference opponents in its first two Big 12 games for the first time ever in the last couple of weeks.

This victory shows the Longhorns can defend their home court against some of the best competition in the Big 12, while showing up when it matters in clutch time. And while it was only by a one point margin, it's worth mentioning that this is the first time the Longhorns have won the second half of a Big 12 game in five contests in conference play this season.

The win moves Texas to 13-5 (2-3 Big 12) on the season and drops Baylor to 14-4 (3-2 Big 12). Next up for the Longhorns is a tough matchup on the road in the Red River Rivalry game on the hardwood on Jan. 23 against the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners.

Here's are two studs and one dud from the Longhorns' last-second win over No. 9 Baylor at the Moody Center on Jan. 20.

Stud: Tyrese Hunter, G

The MVP of this win for the Longhorns over Baylor has to go to Hunter. The third-year guard had his best showing in Big 12 play this season, registering over 20 points for the first time in five conference games. His 21 points were also good for a team-high against Baylor.

None of Hunter's 21 points were more important than the game-winning shot at the basket in the dying seconds of the second half.

He came out firing in the first half, leading Texas with 14 points on better than 50 percent shooting from the field and over 50 percent from beyond the arc. A strong scoring performance to close out the second half got Hunter his third 20-point game of the season.

This was a huge outing from Hunter to get back into form as a primary scorer and offensive creator for the Longhorns. He nearly doubled his point total from the last two games combined against Baylor. And Hunter did so in an efficient manner.

Hunter shot 8-of-13 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. The only fault to Hunter's shooting efficiency in this game was him going 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.

The backcourt duo of Hunter and senior guard Max Abmas was on point facilitating the offense against a good Baylor backcourt. Hunter and Abmas combined for over 35 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and better than 40 percent from deep.

Not only did these two shoot the ball efficiently, they also managed turnovers effectively. Abmas and Hunter combined for 10 assists and just three turnovers. As a direct result, Texas won the turnover battle 10-7 against Baylor in this game.

Hunter deserves all the recognition for showing up the way he did when the Longhorns desparately needed a big win in the Big 12 early in conference play.