At halftime the Texas Longhorns trailed No. 3 seed Iowa State, 29-25, in the quarterfinal game of the evening. Knowing a defeat for No. 6 seed Texas would most likely cost his team a shot at the NCAA tournament, Texas coach Rick Barnes hit it head on in the locker room.

AUDIO What Rick Barnes told his players at halftime (:50)

Texas (20-12) picked up a 71-65 victory over the Cyclones (22-10) thanks to a strong second half and we’re not sure if it is enough to earn a NCAA bid, but it did earn a matchup tonight with Mizzou at 9 p.m.

Kansas dismantled a tired looking Texas A & M team as Elijah Johnson scored a career-high 26 points, in an 83-66 win over the Aggies. Thomas Robinson, the conference player of the year, finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and All-Big 12 guard Tyshawn Taylor added 16 points for the Jayhawks (27-5).

In their new neon yellow look, the Baylor Bears were as flashy as they uniforms. In the first game, led by Perry Jones III scoring a career-high 31 on 11-of-14 shooting, the fourth-seeded Bears (26-6) rolled past No. 5 seed Kansas State, 82-74. The Bears shot 56.9 percent and committed 14 turnovers.