OKLAHOMA CITY – Rick Barnes still hasn't won a Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship.

As Barnes and the Texas players left the Ford Center after a 76-70 semifinal loss to Baylor, their thoughts were focused elsewhere – on an expected 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

"I think we can play any style we have to play against," said Barnes, whose team has been projected as a No. 8 or 9 seed.

The biggest tournament revelation for Texas was the development of center Dexter Pittman. The big man managed seven points Friday, limited by Baylor's defense, foul trouble and the cumulative effect of three games in three days.

But he'll get the attention of future opponents.

"We saw we can play through Dex," said senior guard A.J. Abrams, who shot Baylor out of its 2-3 zone defense with four 3-pointers en route to 20 points. "I think it was a breaking-out party for him, knowing he can play longer stretches of minutes and just be a dominant force inside."

Finally: Baylor guard Henry Dugat ended a personal slump with a key basket. Dugat had not made a 3-pointer for in 21 attempts dating to Feb. 2.

After one attempt went halfway down in the first half before rimming out, Dugat finally connected at 16:19 of the second half, just as Texas seemed to be pulling away.

PBA alert: During one second-half scramble for a loose ball, Pittman plowed headfirst into the thigh of Baylor's Tweety Carter. The two, along with Baylor's Kevin Rogers, spent a minute on the court before walking off.

"Pittman was like a bowling ball out there," Rogers said. "The dude picked up a spare."

An even longer streak: Baylor's win ended a combined 35-game losing streak to the Longhorns in the two major revenue-producing sports, football and men's basketball. The last Baylor football win came in 1997, part of the Longhorns' infamous "Goalposts Across America" tour.

Head to head: Today's championship game will pit Missouri's pressure against Baylor's backcourt depth.

"We're going in there with a defensive mindset to try to stop what they've been doing," said Missouri's Leo Lyons, who scored 30 in an 89-72 regular-season win over Baylor. "Their guards have been hot and we've witnessed it before."