BAYLOR GUARD MAKAI MASON (10) scores past Alabama guards John Petty (center) and Tevin Mack (right) during the second half Saturday in Waco. Baylor won 73-68 as part of the Big 12/SEC men's basketball challenge.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL | BIG 12/SEC CHALLENGE

After dropping the SEC/Big 12 Basketball Challenge for the first time last year, the Big 12 claimed the title this year with a 6-4 advantage in the sixth annual event on Saturday.

Big 12 winners this year were Baylor (73-68 over Alabama in Waco), TCU (55-50 over Florida in Fort Worth), Texas Tech (67-64 over Arkansas in Lubbock), Oklahoma (86-55 over Vanderbilt in Norman), Oklahoma State (74-70 over South Carolina in Stillwater) and Iowa State (87-73 over Mississippi in Oxford).

Taking SEC wins were Texas A&M (65-53 over Kansas State in College Station), Georgia (98-88 over Texas in Athens), Kentucky (71-63 over Kansas in Lexington) and Tennessee (83-66 over West Virginia in Knoxville).

The Big 12 leads the series 4-1-1. Each year 10 of the Big 12 teams play 10 of the 14 SEC schools, with each conference hosting five games.

Also, each conference and ESPN announced on Saturday they had reached a deal to extend what’s become one of college basketball’s signature regular-season events for six more years through the 2024-25 season.

“The extension of this preeminent basketball series assures our teams and fans high quality intersectional matchups for years to come,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. “We are pleased to continue our partnership with the SEC and ESPN to deliver these games for the next six years.”

Said Nick Dawson, ESPN’s vice president of programming and acquisitions: “We’re thrilled to continue partnering on this unique event with the Big 12 and SEC. To have teams from two premier conferences square off on one day during the heart of conference play makes for a special event on the college basketball calendar every year.”

Next season the Big 12 will also start an alliance with the Big East.

Here are the results of Saturday’s games:

BAYLOR 73, ALABAMA 68

WACO — Mario Kegler scored 17 points, Makai Mason had 13 along with the bucket that put Baylor ahead for good and the Bears beat Alabama 73-68 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday before 7,094.

Mason, the former Yale player and first graduate transfer at Baylor, hit a fadeaway jumper that broke the last of nine ties in the second half and gave the Bears a 63-61 lead.

Baylor (13-6) pushed the lead to six when Devonte Bandoo hit a jumper directly off an inbounds pass after a close possession call went to the Bears. Bandoo then stole a pass and hit a layup in transition. Those were all four of Bandoo’s points.

Riley Norris made all four of his 3-pointers and scored 16 points for the Crimson Tide (12-7), including a 3 that kept it a one-possession game at 69-66 with 31 seconds left. Tevin Mack and Kira Lewis Jr. had 15 apiece for Alabama.

Mason made two free throws to get the lead back to five, and Lewis missed a layup at the other end as the Bears won their fourth straight game and improved to 5-1 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. It was Alabama’s first loss in three challenge games.

TCU 55, FLORIDA 50

FORT WORTH — Kouat Noi scored 22 points for TCU after outscoring Florida for most of the first half and the Horned Frogs never trailed in a 55-50 win in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday before 6,682.

The Gators (11-8) started the game 1-of-15 shooting and were down 18-3 more than midway through the first half. After they came back and tied the game for the last time with about 12 1/2 minutes left, Noi scored the next five points to put TCU back ahead to stay.

Desmond Bane added 17 points for TCU (15-4), which won its seventh consecutive home game.

KeVaughn Allen had 11 points for the Gators, which trailed by as many as 16 points before halftime.

NO. 14 TEXAS TECH 67, ARKANSAS 64

LUBBOCK — Davide Moretti had 21 points, Jarrett Culver scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, and No. 14 Texas Tech beat Arkansas 67-64 on Saturday night to stop a three-game slide before 14,290.

Moretti’s two free throws with five seconds left sealed the SEC/Big 12 Challenge game for the Red Raiders (16-4) after their double-digit lead was trimmed to two with a minute left. They didn’t make another field goal after Norense Odiase’s dunk made it 60-48 with 7:41 left.

Arkansas (11-8) was down 65-62 when it turned it over with eight seconds remaining, leading to Moretti’s foul shots. Jalen Harris made a layup for the Razorbacks as time expired.

Daniel Gafford led Arkansas with 14 points after missing most of the first half in foul trouble. Harris and Mason Jones had 11 points apiece.

Matt Mooney scored 12 points for the Red Raiders.

Harris beat the halftime buzzer with a long running 3-pointer, lifting the Razorbacks to a 33-30 lead at the break.

GEORGIA 98, TEXAS 88

ATHENS, Ga. — Tyree Crump scored 21 points while setting a career high with six 3-pointers and Georgia enjoyed its best-shooting game of the season to beat Texas 98-88 on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge before 10,374.