Jayhawks cruise into Big 12 final
TOP 25/BIG 12 MEN
NO. 3 KANSAS 71, IOWA STATE 58
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas Coach Bill Self spoke to his team remotely during breakfast Friday, while the Hall of Famer continued his recovery from an emergency medical procedure earlier this week, and told the Jayhawks that he was proud of their quarterfinal performance in the Big 12 Tournament.
Their semifinal showing might have been even better.
Jalen Wilson had 25 points and 10 rebounds, Gradey Dick made a couple of crucial baskets during a second-half run to help Kansas regain control, and the third-ranked Jayhawks cruised past Iowa State 71-58 on Friday night to move within one more win of defending their tournament title.
“It was great to talk to him, hear his voice,” Wilson said of Self, who went to the hospital Wednesday night and is out for the tournament. “He was super proud of how we did last game and I’m sure he’ll be proud of us this game.”
Dick finished with 15 points for the top-seeded Jayhawks (27-6), who fell behind early in the second half before the defending champs rallied to reach tonight’s title game.
Longtime assistant Norm Roberts, serving as the acting coach, said Self was “doing a lot better.” It’s still unknown whether he will be available when the Jayhawks begin the defense of their NCAA championship next week.
“We talked to him today, earlier this morning, going over the game plan — how we wanted to guard, what we wanted to do — and he was good with that,” Roberts said. “He talked to us right after the game and was so excited about the way the guys played. He said, ‘Hey, we really guarded today.’ He was really happy for our guys.”
Jaren Holmes had 16 points to lead the No. 5 seed Cyclones (19-13). Robert Jones finished with 11.
“They were more aggressive from the start,” Iowa State Coach TJ Otzelberger said. “They got going offensively, espeically Wilson early, and they’re a really good team. I’m proud of our guys for how they fought back, and gained the lead in the secnod half, but we weren’t able to string together stops.”
The first half between two teams very familiar with each other was sloppy and disjointed. They combined to commit 20 turnovers, some of them byproduct of tight defense but many entirely unforced.
Wilson got off to a hot start, hitting a trio of three-pointers among his first four shots. The Cyclones weathered the barrage and were still within 29-25 late in the half, but Wilson’s basket in the closing minute and another turnover that led to a runout dunk by KJ Adams sent the regular-season champs to the locker room with a 33-25 lead.
The Jayhawks’ turnover trouble continued after the break, and Iowa State used a 10-2 run out of the locker room and another spurt moments later to take a 39-38 lead — its first of the game — with just under 15 minutes to go.
Yet the Jayhawks showed again the poise and precision that have made them so good come March.
Wilson answered Iowa State with a couple of free throws, starting the Jayhawks’ own 10-2 run to retake control. Backup big man Ernest Udeh Jr. threw down a thunderous dunk off a nifty assist from Dajuan Harris Jr., who also had 11 points, and the lead unspooled again as Kansas fans began to drown out their Cyclone counterparts.
The Jayhawks were never threatened down the stretch as they clinched their spot in the title game.
“Our guys were fired up to play, excited to play today,” Roberts said, “and we really did a good job defenisvely of kind of taking them out of what they wanted to do in a lot of ways.”
In Friday’s late semifinal game, Dylan Disu and Christian Bishop scored 15 points apiece, Tyrese Hunter made two free throws in the closing seconds, and seventh-ranked Texas held off No. 22 TCU 66-60. The win wasn’t in hand until the final minutes, when Micah Peavey’s miss that would have drawn TCU within 60-58 turned into a runout. Marcus Carr converted the layup at the other end for Texas (25-8) to extend its lead, and Sir’Jabari Rice and Hunter made free throws down the stretch to put the game away. Mike Miles had 15 points to lead the sixth-seeded Horned Frogs (21-12).
AAC
Marcus Sasser scored 30 points and top-ranked Houston got its 30th win of the season with a 60-46 victory over East Carolina in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The Cougars have back-to-back 30-win seasons for the first time since their Phi Slama Jama era. Jamal Shead added 12 points for Houston (30-2). East Carolina freshman forward Ezra Ausar had 18 points and a season-high 19 rebounds for the Pirates (16-17). … Landers Nolley II scored 22 points, Mika Adams-Woods and Dan Skillings Jr. each had 20, and fourth-seeded Cincinnati overwhelmed Temple 84-54. Ody Oguama had 12 rebounds for the Bearcats (21-11), who finished strong after being down by 10 points less than seven minutes into the game. Zach Hicks, Jamille Reynolds and Damian Dunn each had 12 points for Temple (16-16). Jahlil White added 10. The Bearcats play Houston in the semifinal round today. … DeAndre Williams’ 35 points led Memphis over UCF 81-76. Williams added 13 rebounds for the Tigers (23-8). Kendric Davis added 33 points while shooting 10 for 16 (5 for 7 from three-point range) and 8 of 9 from the free throw line, and he also had seven assists and three blocks. CJ Kelly led the Knights (17-13) in scoring, finishing with 28 points and seven rebounds.
ACC
Kyle Filipowski had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Jeremy Roach hit a huge three-pointer at the 1:32 mark and No. 21 Duke held off No. 14 Miami 85-78 in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals. Roach’s three-pointer from the left wing over Isaiah Wong with the shot clock going down proved to be the biggest shot, giving Duke a 78-71 lead that Miami couldn’t overcome in a wellplayed matchup that often resembled a second-weekend NCAA Tournament game. The fourth-seeded Blue Devils (25-8) did enough late to stay in control, closing out their eighth straight win and earning their 17th trip to the title game in the past 25 tournaments. Wong had 22 points to lead the top-seeded Hurricanes (25-7). … Jayden Gardner had 23 points and 12 rebounds and No. 13 Virginia beat Clemson 76-56, sending Coach Tony Bennett’s team to the title game for the first time since 2018, when the Cavaliers won it all. Armaan Franklin scored 16 points and Kihei Clark added 13 for the Cavaliers (25-6).
BIG EAST
Tyler Kolek and David Joplin each scored 17 points, and No. 6 Marquette moved into the Big East championship game for the first time by holding off No. 11 UConn 70-68. Playing with three key players on the bench in foul trouble for a large chunk of time down the stretch, the top-seeded Golden Eagles (27-6) opened a four-point lead on a three-pointer by Olivier-Maxence Prosper with 3:39 left and then held on at raucous Madison Square Garden. Marquette limited the fourth-seeded Huskies (25-8) to two points over the final 3:50 and kept them scoreless for the last 2 1/2 minutes, winning for the first time in four semifinal appearances at the Big East Tournament since joining the league in 2005. … Souley Boum scored 23 points, Jack Nunge added 17 and No. 15 Xavier cruised into the Big East Tournament championship game with an 82-60 victory against No. 24 Creighton. Xavier (25-8) has played in the final just once since joining the conference in 2013-14, losing to Villanova in 2015. Boum made a three-pointer from the wing with 13:55 left to increase the lead to 18 and Creighton (21-12) couldn’t get enough stops to make a run.
BIG TEN
Mason Gillis had 20 points on 7-for8 shooting, and No. 5 Purdue held off Rutgers 70-65 for a rugged victory in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals. With Zach Edey drawing his usual attention inside, the top-seeded Boilermakers (275) got a big lift from Gillis and reserve guard David Jenkins Jr. Gillis grabbed nine rebounds and Jenkins had a season-high 12 points. Edey finished with 16 points and 11 boards. Derek Simpson scored 18 points for Rutgers (19-14). … Bruce Thornton had 21 points and six assists, freshman Roddy Gayle Jr. scored seven of his season-high 15 points in the final five minutes and Ohio State beat fourth-seeded Michigan State 68-58. Ohio State (16-18) became the lowest seed, at No. 13, to ever reach the Big Ten semifinals. The Buckeyes will face top-seeded Purdue on today. Joey Hauser led Michigan State (19-12) with 15 points. … Seth Lundy scored 16 points, Jalen Pickett had 15 points and nine rebounds and No. 10 seed Penn State beat second-seeded Northwestern 67-65 in overtime. It was Penn State’s second overtime win over Northwestern in nine days after a 68-65 win on March
1. Andrew Funk added 14 points for Penn State (21-12) and Kanye Clary added
11. … Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 24 points, Jalen Hood-Schifino added 19 points, and No. 19 Indiana beat Maryland 70-60. The third-seeded Hoosiers (22-10) went on a 20-2 run in the second half to wipe out a seven-point deficit and got payback for a loss at Maryland (2112) on Jan. 31. They will face No. 10 seed Penn State in the semifinals today. Jackson-Davis had 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 4 blocks.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Keshad Johnson and Darrion Trammell each scored 15 points and No. 20 San Diego State beat San Jose State 64-49 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals. The top-seeded Aztecs (26-6) advanced to the championship game for the sixth consecutive year. The Aztecs shot 40.7% from the floor, hitting 22 of 54, including 6 of 16 from three-point range. Tibet Gorener scored 15 points for San Jose State (20-13).
PAC-12
Tyger Campbell scored a career-high 28 points, including all seven during a key second-half run, and No. 2 UCLA beat Oregon 75-56 in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament semifinals. The Bruins (29-4) have won 12 in a row and 26 of 28, and one more victory likely would secure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Oregon (19-14) had won four in a row.