Fifth-seeded Iowa State used strong outside shooting to defeat fourth-seeded Baylor 83-66 Thursday in the first quarterfinal of the Big 12 tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
Iowa State (21-11) was 13-of-25 from three-point range. The Cyclones shot just 36.2 percent from long range during the regular season, but they had two games in the conference season in which they shot better than 50 percent. Those came in upset wins over Kansas and at Kansas State.
The Cyclones will face the winner of No. 15 Kansas State, the tournament's top seed, vs. TCU, in Friday's first semifinal.
Iowa State split with Kansas State during the regular season, with each team winning on the opponent's home court. TCU swept the Cyclones.
Iowa State used a 9-0 spurt early in the second half to pull away to a 50-34 lead. Baylor never got closer than 11 points from that point.
The Cyclones were led by Talen Horton-Tucker with 21 points. He was joined in double figures by Marial Shayok with 18, Lindell Wigginton with 16 and Tyrese Haliburton with 13.
Baylor (19-13) was led by Mario Kegler with 16 points. Makai Mason added 14, Devonte Bandoo had 11 and Mark Vital had 10.
Both teams started out aggressive -- and hot -- from long range. Baylor hit four of its first five 3-point attempts, while Iowa State hit three of its first four. The teams combined to shoot 47.8 percent for the half. Iowa State was 6-of-11 and Baylor was 5-of-12.
After a fast start -- Baylor led 16-14 at the second media timeout -- the pace slowed. Iowa State took a 38-29 lead into halftime, thanks largely to a 9-0 run late in the half.
Iowa State was led in the first half by Horton-Tucker with 16 points, including 4-of-7 from long distance.
Baylor was led by Mason with nine points and Kegler with eight.
--Field Level Media
Iowa State | Baylor | |
Talen Horton-Tucker 21 | Scoring | Mario Kegler 16 |
Tyrese Haliburton 4 | Assists | Makai Mason 5 |
Michael Jacobson 7 | Rebounds | Mark Vital 8 |
Lindell Wigginton 8 | Free Throws Made | Mario Kegler 3 |
Nick Weiler-Babb 2 | Steals | Darius Allen 1 |
Talen Horton-Tucker 3 | Blocks | Mark Vital 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Iowa State | 83 | 51.7 | 13-25 | 10-14 | 15 | 27 | 5 | 8 | 8 |
Baylor | 66 | 43.1 | 9-25 | 7-10 | 12 | 32 | 5 | 3 | 14 |