KU Crumbles; Iowa State Roars Back to Win Big 12 Tournament

“It sucked” – Bill Self, when asked about how his team’s play in the second half.

Featuring SC Top Ten dunks, blazing comebacks, and last-second heroics, Saturday night’s Big 12 Tournament Championship Game lived up to all hype. Kansas and Iowa State played 80 minutes of tough, physical basketball in the regular season, splitting the two meetings and leaving fans wanting more. KU-ISU III was the matchup everyone wanted from the moment the Big 12 Tournament bracket was set, from the fans to the ticket scalpers. In the end, it was the Cyclones who overcame a double-digit deficit yet again to claim their second consecutive Big 12 Tournament Title.

The top two seeds in the tournament dueled back and forth for the first 10 minutes. The Jayhawks seized control of the game by ending the half on a 23-10 run, sparked by Wayne Selden continuing his strong tournament with 13 points. KU’s defense was terrific, holding the Cyclones to a whopping 1-11 (9%) from three-point range.

Despite the 37-23 lead, uneasiness was alive and well throughout the guts of the Jayhawk faithful. After all, this was an Iowa State team who had won its last four games after trailing by at least 11 in each of them. The Cyclones had fallen behind Texas by 16 and Oklahoma by 11 in the last two days, and still managed to win both contests. Fans knew that an Iowa State run was coming, and that Kansas’ ability to survive and make a spurt of their own would be the key to coming out ahead.

Things peaked for the Jayhawks when Frank Mason opened the second half by hitting three free throws, stretching KU’s lead to 40-23 with 19:34 left. Kansas had a 95% win probability on KenPom, and it was right when some fans began to feel most comfortable that the danger was directly around the corner.

Halftime adjustments from Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg proved to be lethal as the Cyclones immediately fired off a 10-0 run. All five of Iowa State’s field goals were shots at the rim; the pick-and-roll that Kansas had controlled so well in the first half now looked completely new to Landen Lucas. Less than five minutes after Kansas owned a 17-point advantage, the score was 42-40, and the red and gold half of Sprint Center was roaring in full force.

Teams traded blows to keep the game close for the next several minutes. The score was deadlocked at 51 at the third TV timeout of the half, but that’s when Iowa State made another push. An 8-1 run surged the Cyclones to a 59-52 advantage with 5:02 remaining, and it was then when Bill Self finally switched to a zone defense.

The result was marvelous – Iowa State made just one field goal in the last five minutes. The problem was that Kansas managed just one of its own.

Wayne Selden, who led the game with a career-best 25 points, finished an improbable three-point play to tie the game at 61 with 1:29 remaining. That’s when the final collapse began for the Jayhawks: after Kansas failed to rebound three straight Cyclone misses, Perry Ellis fouled Abdel Naber with 0:48 left. He then sank both free throws to put Iowa State in the lead to stay. Kansas turned it over on its next two possessions, with Selden never touching the basketball after his game-tying and-one.

The final result was a 70-66 Iowa State win and a brilliant game that went down as an instant classic. The Cyclones continued their improbable “comeback kids” narrative, but as was the case in the past comebacks, the result can’t the same without a monumental collapse.

Kansas’ offense made five field goals in the second half. Five. It was out-rebounded by a team that had a -16 disadvantage on the boards to Oklahoma on Friday. The Jayhawks committed seven more turnovers than their opponent, and shot a dismal 15/41 (37%) from two.

The defense wasn’t any better: Iowa State had an eye-popping 46 points in the paint. That’s the highest total allowed by Kansas in four seasons. It’s also the third time this year that the Jayhawks have allowed 40 or more points in the paint – all three times were Iowa State’s doing.

Iowa State claimed its second straight Big 12 Tournament Title. It enters the NCAA Tournament with a 25-8 record, and is currently riding a five-game winning streak. The team with the most impressive showing at Sprint Center was crowned champion after completing three seemingly-improbable rallies, completing one of the most memorable Big 12 Tournaments in recent memory. The Cyclones have also won three of their last four against the Jayhawks, including two straight in the Big 12 Tournament.

For Kansas, it was a murderous game for its fans that suffer from heart problems, but it likely didn’t hurt much in the long run. Kansas is still likely going to be a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks have already won 26 games and an 11th straight Big 12 title. They’ve shown that they can play with anybody and fans should expect yet another deep run in March.

Iowa State-Kansas III capped an incredible two-and-a-half months of Big 12 basketball action. As we enter the NCAA Tournament and all the teams in the league suddenly become cheerleaders for each other, it became obvious this weekend that the Big 12 truly is the deepest and best conference in the country. There truly is nothing like Big 12 basketball.

Stats and notes:

• Wayne Selden was just terrific, putting in a career-high 25 points on 8-12 shooting. He was also 8-8 at the free throw line, and he contributed 5 rebounds in 35 minutes. Selden was the lone Jayhawk named to the All-Tournament Team.
• If Frank Mason is as fatigued as numbers would suggest that he should be, it may be finally showing. The sophomore point guard was just 2-11 from the floor (though he was 8-9 from the line) in a game-high 36 minutes. He dished out four assists and snagged four rebounds.
• Mason in the tournament: 106/120 possible minutes, and 8-31 from the floor. 10 assists to 5 turnovers. How much is left in his tank has got to be a concern for fans as the Jayhawks enter the tournament.
• Perry Ellis clearly isn’t 100% either, as he was just 2-10 from the floor in 30 minutes. The totals are 7 points and 9 rebounds. He was in and out of the game all afternoon getting his knee brace adjusted.
• Kelly Oubre played just 17 minutes, and scored just 3 points.
• Landen Lucas: 6 points (3/3 FG), 5 rebounds in 24 minutes.
• Jamari Traylor did not score and logged 2 boards in 10 minutes.
• Devonte’ Graham had 7 points and 4 assists, but his lone turnover was the dagger for the Jayhawks.
• Brannen Greene hit a three in garbage time, but continues to struggle otherwise. He scored 3 points in 16 minutes.
• Fred Hoiberg coached rings around Bill Self in the second half. His Cyclones outscored Kansas 47-29 after intermission.
• If you had told me before the game that Iowa State would go 2/16 from three, I would have said that Kansas would have won by double-digits. I would have liked that outcome better.
• The Jayhawks made more than 40% of their threes for the first time in their last nine games. 5/14 is a nifty 41.7%.
• Overall, KU shot 38% from the floor, its lowest since…Thursday. Yeesh.
• Free throw shooting was a positive point for the Jayhawks, as they missed just two of their 23 attempts. 21/23 is a cool 91%.
• As mentioned in the recap, the Jayhawks were out-rebounded 37-34, and Iowa State had an 11-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
• Bill Self had been 6-0 in Big 12 Tournament Championship Games. He is now 6-1.
• Kansas has lost to Iowa State on March 14th for two straight years. Next year, March 14th will be the Monday after Selection Sunday, so that’s comforting for Jayhawk fans.
• Inside the Paint‘s Daniel Cunningham picked a completely perfect Big 12 Tournament bracket, and has now nailed his last 18 Big 12 game picks. Yeah, we don’t know either.