KANSAS CITY, Mo. – With six teams eliminated and four teams remaining, the third day of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship featured two semifinal matchups to determine who will play for the title Saturday night.
Kansas vs. Iowa State
Despite leading after a wild first half, top-seeded Kansas couldn’t contain a hot night on offense from Iowa State as the Cyclones won 94-83.
“Couldn’t be more proud of these guys,” ISU head coach Fred Hoiberg said. “Everybody that stepped on the floor made a big contribution today.”
Iowa State forward Georges Niang scored a team-high 25 points and dished out seven assists in the semifinal win. Niang, Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane combined for 64 points.
“I think every day we play, we bring it,” Ejim said. “We’re doing a real good job and we’re really rolling right now.”
The Cyclones drained a Big 12 Championship record 11 three-pointers on the night. The team shot 54 percent from the field.
“We’re not going to play a team, more than likely, in the tournament that’s better than Iowa State was tonight offensively,” KU head coach Bill Self said.
While he scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Kansas guard Andrew Wiggins had an off-night. He was 7-for-21 from the field after coming off two straight games with 30+ points.
The Jayhawks were kept in the game by forward Perry Ellis who scored 30 points in the loss. Ellis scored 21 of those 30 in the first half as Kansas led 48-46.
Iowa State will face Baylor in the finals Saturday night. The Cyclones haven’t won the Big 12 Championship since 2000.
Texas vs. Baylor
In the second matchup of the day, No. 7 seed Baylor routed the Texas Longhorns 86-69.
Bears forward Cory Jefferson continued his stellar tournament performance against the Longhorns. He scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win.
Jefferson has finished with a double double in all three of Baylor’s games at the Big 12 Championship.
The Bears were red hot from behind the arc tonight, shooting 7-of-11 from three in the first half en rout to a 42-27 lead. They finished the game with 12 made shots from behind the arc.
Baylor guard Brady Heslip added to the blowout, hitting six three-pointers and adding a game-high 24 points in the win.
Coming off a blowout of West Virginia, the Longhorns, on the other hand, struggled all night on the offensive end. Texas shot only 33 percent in the first half and trailed by as much as 24 in the second.
Longhorns forward Jonathan Holmes missed eight of his first 10 shots and only scored six for the game.
Baylor beat TCU and No. 2 seed Oklahoma before routing Texas Friday night. They’ll face No. 4 seed Iowa State in the finals Saturday night.
The winner of Saturday night’s contest will be the lowest seed to ever win the Big 12 Championship. If the Bears win, they’ll be the first team to ever do so with four games in four days.
Stay tuned for more coverage from the event in Kansas City, Miss. Updates for each game will be posted along with quotes from the postgame press conferences, Google Glass photos and videos and more.