Longhorns to Play for Big 12 Title

In an illustration of just how perverse conference tournaments can be, Texas has advanced to tomorrow's 1 PM Big 12 Championship Game thanks to wins over Missouri by the 'Horns' two biggest rivals, OU and A&M .  After Texas' wild win in the bottom of the ninth over the Sooners in today's first game, the Aggies took care of the Tigers to send Augie's boys into a matchup against the winner of Pool 2 (OK State, Nebraska, K-State, and Baylor). There are possible scenarios wherein any of the four teams in Pool 2 could emerge, as they are all 1-1 heading into today's action.

In case you're keeping track at home, the Longhorns have now won five of their last six ballgames and have done it with timely hitting, clutch pitching, and sometimes timely hitting to overcome a lack of clutch pitching. Regardless of the outcome in the tournament championship, these guys are going to be a scary draw for whoever they're matched up against in the sub-regional next week. And as a fan, you want your team to be scary going into the Tournament.

[Note by 40AS, 05/24/08 7:47 PM CDT ] Oklahoma State has defeated Nebraska in today's third game. That eliminates Nebraska from contention and clears up the Pool 2 situation a bit. If Baylor defeats Kansas State, then OK State will advance to play Texas tomorrow. If K-State wins, then it's the Wildcats who will play Texas for the championship.

[Note by Horn Brain, 05/25/08 10:32 AM CDT ] Game will be televised live on FSN at 1pm today.  Boening will be your starting pitcher (probably).  I don't know who will relieve the kid, though, since Texas basically emptied the bullpen against OU.  Thanks to phf for the used pitching chart.  If the pattern continues, we may need about 15 pitchers to finish this game.