Iowa State knocks out No. 10 Baylor 78-72 in Big 12 quarters

The Cyclones must have taken the message to heart.

Sure, Gabe Kalscheur knocked down six 3-pointers and scoring 24 points. But everyone else wearing red had a hand in the huge advantage on the boards, including a 21-5 edge on the offensive glass, and that allowed the fifth-seeded Cyclones to beat the fourth-seeded Bears 78-72 on Thursday and advance to the semifinal round.

“The things we really focused on,” Otzelberger said with a hoarse voice, “our guys did a great job.”

Jaren Holmes added 17 points, Tamin Lipsey had 12 and Tre King 10 for the Cyclones (19-12), who followed up a win over the Bears on Saturday by beating them for the fifth time in six conference tournament games.

Iowa State will play third-ranked Kansas on Friday night for a spot in the title game. As for Bears, well, the game plan for Iowa State to beat them was simple.

“Our coaches did a great job of telling us to take away their 3s,” Kalscheur said. “Jalen Bridges was knocking down 3s — a lot of them were open — but we kind of limited their other guards from going off.”

Bridges, who was held to five points on 1-for-9 shooting against Iowa State last weekend, went 10 of 11 from the field, topped his career high with a 3 early in the second half and finished with 28 points for Baylor (22-10).

It wasn’t enough against the Cyclones, who are trying to repeat their 2019 title as the No. 5 seed.

(1) KANSAS 78, (8) WEST VIRGINIA 61: Playing without ailing coach Bill Self on the sideline, third-ranked Kansas turned to big offensive performances from Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris Jr. along with some stingy defense to pull away from West Virginia in the quarterfinals in Kansas City, Missouri. They will play Iowa State in Friday night’s semifinals.

Self missed the game with what the school called an undisclosed illness. He was being treated at the University of Kansas Health System. Erik Stevenson had 13 points to lead West Virginia in the loss.

(2) TEXAS 61, (7) OKLAHOMA STATE 47: Sir’Jabari Rice scored 13 points to lead four Texas players in double-figures scoring, and the seventh-ranked Longhorns shut down Oklahoma State once again in a quarterfinals game.

Tyrese Hunter and Dylan Disu scored 11 points apiece and Arterio Morris had 10 as the Longhorns breezed into the semifinals. Caleb Asberry had 16 points for the Cowboys, whose slim NCAA Tournament hopes may have taken a devastating blow with the lackluster performance.

(6) TCU 80, (3) KANSAS STATE 67: Mike Miles and Chuck O’Bannon scored 22 points apiece and No. 22 TCU rolled to victory over No. 12 Kansas State to advance to the tournament semifinals. The Horned Frogs had been beaten by the Wildcats in four of the past five tournaments but will now play No. 7 Texas for a spot in the title game.

Keyontae Johnson had 14 points and seven boards to lead the Wildcats, though he fouled out with more than six minutes left in the game. Desi Sills also had 14 points and Markquis Nowell had 11 for Kansas State.

(1) MIAMI 74, (9) WAKE FOREST 72: Jordan Miller had 18 points and nine rebounds, and No. 14 Miami held on to defeat Wake Forest in the quarterfinals hosted in Greensboro, North Carolina. Miami earned the tournament’s top seed for the first time since 2013.

ACC player of the year Isaiah Wong scored 17 points and had five assists, and Norchad Omier had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Wake Forest’s Tyree Appleby had 24 points on five 3s for ninth-seeded Wake Forest, whose frantic comeback from an 18-point second half deficit fell just short.

(4) DUKE 96, (5) PITTSBURGH 69: Kyle Filipowski overcame an early ankle injury to score 22 points, Tyrese Proctor added 11 points and 10 assists, and No. 21 Duke cruised to a win over Pittsburgh in the quarterfinals. Dereck Lively II had 13 points and Mark Mitchell added 12 for the Blue Devils.

Duke shot a season-high 62% from the floor in its seventh straight win — the longest active streak of any ACC team. Nike Sibande had 17 points and Guillermo Diaz Graham had 14 for Pitt.

(2) VIRGINIA 68, (7) NORTH CAROLINA 59: No. 13 Virginia dealt a damaging blow to North Carolina’s already shaky NCAA Tournament hopes, beating the Tar Heels in the conference tourney quarterfinals. Jayden Gardner had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Reece Beekman added 15 points, five assists and five steals for the Cavaliers.

Virginia finally wrestled away control of the game with a 9-0 run in the final two minutes after the Tar Heels had cut a 10-point deficit to 57-55. R.J. Davis scored 24 points to lead the Tar Heels, who lost for the second time in three meetings with the Cavaliers.

(3) CLEMSON 80, (6) NORTH CAROLINA STATE 54: Ian Schieffelin and PJ Hall each scored 15 points and Clemson pulled away from North Carolina State in the second half to earn a quarterfinal win. Clemson will face second-seeded Virginia Friday in the semifinals. D.J. Burns Jr. paced NC State with 12 points.

(9) RUTGERS 62, (8) MICHIGAN 50: Cam Spencer and Derek Simpson scored 23 of their combined 31 points in the second half and Rutgers beat Michigan in the second round hosted in Chicago.

Spencer scored 18 points and Simpson 13 for the Scarlet Knights, who rebounded to shoot 52% in the second half after a 29% first half. They will play top-seed Purdue in Friday’s quarterfinals. Hunter Dickinson scored 24 points for Michigan, which had just one second-half field goal until the final minute.

(13) OHIO STATE 73, (5) IOWA 69: Bruce Thornton scored 17 points and Roddy Gayle Jr. had all nine of his points in the final six minutes to help give Ohio State an upset win over Iowa in the second round. Brice Sensabaugh added 16 points, Justice Sueing 14 and Sean McNeil 13 for the Buckeyes, who will play fourth-seeded Michigan State in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Filip Rebraca scored 20 points, Kris Murray 17 and Tony Perkins 16 for the Hawkeyes. Gayle tied the game with a jumper then hit a 3-pointer for the game’s 18th and final lead change at 64-61 with about 3 1/2 minutes remaining.

(10) PENN STATE 79, (7) ILLINOIS 76: Andrew Funk hit five of his six 3-pointers and scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half as Penn State defeated Illinois in a second round game. Camren Wynter scored 18 points, and Seth Lundy had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Nittany Lions, who will take on second-seeded Northwestern in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Jalen Pickett, who came in averaging 18 points per game and scored a combined 61 points in two regular-season wins over the Fighting Illini, had 12 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 points, Coleman Hawkins 17 and Dain Dainja 13 for Illinois. A 3-pointer by Illinois as time ran out provided the final margin.

(6) MARYLAND 70, (14) MINNESOTA 54: Donta Scott scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, Jahmir Young scored 14 of his 15 in the second and Maryland defeated Minnesota in the second round. The Terrapins advance to play 19th-ranked Indiana in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Scott made 6 of 13 shots with four 3-pointers, adding eight rebounds for Maryland. Young made just 3 of 13 shots but hit 9 of 11 at the free-throw line. Pharrel Payne scored 17 points off the bench to pace the Golden Gophers.

(1) UCLA 80, (9) COLORADO 69: Freshman Amari Bailey scored a season-high 26 points and No. 2 UCLA beat Colorado in the quarterfinals hosted in Las Veegas. The Bruins kept pushing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with their 11th straight win. Bailey eclipsed his previous high of 24 points on Feb. 9 at Oregon State.

Tyger Campbell scored 18 points for the Bruins, Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 16 and Adem Bona totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds. Tristan da Silva led Colorado with 17 points. Colorado coach Tad Boyle was ejected in the final minute after arguing a call. He had to be restrained by his assistants before leaving the floor.

(4) OREGON 75, (5) WASHINGTON STATE 70: Keeshawn Barthelemy and Jermaine Couisnard each scored 17 points and Oregon had a 19-point lead erased before closing on a 7-0 run to beat Washington State in the quarterfinals. Oregon, which has won 10 straight games in the conference tournament, advances to play UCLA in the semifinals on Friday.

Washington State had a seven-game winning streak come to an end. N’Faly Dante added 16 points and 11 rebounds for Oregon, but he rolled his right ankle in the closing seconds and did not return. Dante had a putback with 1:18 left to give Oregon a 72-70 lead. TJ Bamba finished with 19 points for Washington State.

(2) ARIZONA 95, (10) STANFORD 84: Oumar Ballo scored 24 points and No. 8 Arizona broke away late, beating Stanfor to reach the semifinals. Cedric Henderson Jr. had 23 points and Azuolas Tubelis added 20 for the Wildcats.

Tommy Lloyd won his 59th game at Arizona, the most victories in a coach’s first two seasons. Former North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge held the previous mark. Courtney Ramey had 15 points for Arizona, which used a 12-2 run to take a 92-78 lead. The Wildcats shot 64%. Spencer Jones scored 22 points for Stanford.

(9) MISSISSIPPI STATE 69, (8) FLORIDA 68-OT: Tolu Smith scored a career-high 28 points, including a go-ahead basket in overtime with 4.3 seconds left, and Mississippi State beat Florida in the second round hosted in Nashville, Tennessee. Mississippi State advances to play top-seeded Alabama in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Florida freshman Riley Kugel made a 3-pointer with 37.1 seconds left to pull within 67-64 and Mississippi State turned it over near midcourt before Kugel was fouled on a drive. Kugel made two free throws, the Bulldogs turned it over again and Niels Lane scored with 11.8 left to give Florida a 68-67 lead. Mississippi State elected not to call a timeout and Davis drove the lane to find Smith open for a basket.

(5) TENNESSEE 70, (13) OLE MISS 55: Josiah-Jordan James had game-highs of 20 points and seven rebounds, leading No. 17 Tennessee past Mississippi in the quarterfinals. The Vols will play No. 4 seed Missouri in the semifinals on Friday. James made four 3-pointers, including a shot on the Vols’ first possession of the game. His 3 from the corner with 5 seconds left in the first half gave Tennessee a 39-33 lead at the break.

The Vols led 52-48 with 11 1/2 minutes left before increasing the margin to 64-50 on Julian Phillips’ two free throws with 7 1/2 minutes to go. Santiago Vescovi added 15 points for the Vols. Myles Burns scored 14 points and also had three steals for Mississippi.

(10) ARKANSAS 76, (7) AUBURN 73: Anthony Black scored 19 points and Arkansas held off Auburn for a 7second rounbd victory. Auburn used a 15-6 run for a 73-72 lead with 41 seconds remaining for its only lead since scoring the first two points of the game.

Nick Smith Jr. answered with a jumper for Arkansas, and Davonte Davis then forced a turnover and added a pair of free throws to cap the scoring with 11 seconds left. Wendell Green Jr. missed a 3-pointer to end it. Arkansas will play second-seeded Texas A&M in a quarterfinal.

(6) VANDERBILT 77, (14) LSU 68: Tyrin Lawrence had 22 points, Jordan Wright scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, and Vanderbilt rolled to a second round victory over LSU. Ezra Manjon scored seven points during a 12-0 run that stretched Vanderbilt’s lead to 49-36 with 14:01 to play, and they led by double digits nearly the rest of the way.

Vanderbilt, which has won four straight and 9 of its last 10 games, will face Kentucky in a quarterfinal. KJ Williams scored 26 points for No. 14 seed LSU.

(4) SAINT LOUIS 82, (5) GEORGE MASON 54: Gibson Jimerson had 21 points and Saint Louis beat George Mason in the quarterfinals hosted in New York. Jimerson was 8 of 13 shooting, including 2 for 5 from distance, and went 3 for 3 from the line for the Billikens.

(1) VCU 71, (8) DAVIDSON 53: David Shriver, Jamir Watkins and Adrian Baldwin Jr. scored 11 points apiece to help lead t VCU beat Davidson in the quarterfinals. Watkins added six rebounds and three blocks for the Rams.

(2) DAYTON 60, (10) SAINT JOSEPH 54: Toumani Camara and DaRon Holmes had 17 points apiece in Dayton’s quarterfinal victory against Saint Joseph’s (PA). Camara had 18 rebounds and four steals for the Flyers.

(3) FORDHAM 69, (11) LA SALLE 61: Darius Quisenberry had 22 points in Fordham’s quarterfinals win against La Salle. Quisenberry also contributed six rebounds for the Rams.

(7) UCF 76, (10) SMU 70: Led by CJ Kelly’s 21 points, the UCF Knights defeated the SMU Mustangs in the first round hosted in Forth Worth, Texas. Kelly was 6 of 11 shooting, including 3 for 3 from distance, and went 6 for 6 from the line for the Knights.

(9) EAST CAROLINA 73, (8) SOUTH FLORIDA 58: RJ Felton and Jaden Walker scored 22 points each in East Carolina’s victory over South Florida in the first round. Felton added seven rebounds for the Pirates.

(6) WICHITA STATE 81, (11) TULSA 63: James Rojas, Kenny Pohto and Jaron Pierre Jr. all scored 13 points to lead Wichita State to a first round romp over Tulsa. Rojas added seven rebounds and Pohto grabbed five for the Shockers. Wichita State advances to play No. 3 seed Tulane in Friday’s quarterfinals.

(1) MARQUETTE 72, (8) ST. JOHN’S 70-OT: Tyler Kolek scored all 19 of his points after halftime, including the tiebreaking free throws with 15.8 seconds left in overtime, and No. 6 ranked Marquette rallied for a victory against scrappy St. John’s in the quarterfinals hosted in New York. Marquette has won seven straight and 12 of 13, reaching the Big East semifinals for the fourth time overall and first since 2019.

(4) UCONN 73, (5) PROVIDENCE 66: Jordan Hawkins scored 19 points and No. 11 UConn held off a furious second-half rally to beat Providence in the quarterfinals. The Huskies advanced to face Marquette in Friday night’s semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

(2) XAVIER 89, (10) DEPAUL 84: Jack Nunge had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Colby Jones scored 22 and No. 15 Xavier needed a late comeback to beat DePaul in the quarterfinals. Souley Boum added 16 points for the Musketeers, who trailed by 13 in the second half and led for only 2 1/2 minutes total.

(3) CREIGHTON 87, VILLANOVA 74: Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 21 points, Ryan Nembhard added 17 and No. 24 Creighton defeated Villanova in a rematch of last season’s championship game. The Bluejays advanced to the semifinals Friday night at Madison Square Garden to face second-seeded and No. 15 Xavier.

(1) UC IRVINE 75, (7) CS-BAKERSFIELD 51: JC Butler scored 13 points off of the bench to lead the UC Irvine Anteaters over the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners in the quarterfinals hosted in Henderson, Nevada. Butler added five rebounds and three steals for the Anteaters.

(4) CS-FULLERTON 62, (5) HAWAII 60: Max Jones scored 18 points, including three in the overtime, as the CSU Fullerton Titans beat the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors in the quarterfinals. Jones added six rebounds.

(2) CS-SANTA BARBARA 64, (10) CAL POLY 54: Led by Ajay Mitchell’s 24 points, the UCSB Gauchos defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs in the quarterfinals. Mitchell added five assists.

(1) FLORIDA ATLANTIC 75, (8) WESTERN KENTUCKY 51: Johnell Davis scored 14 points to lead Florida Atlantic to a quarterfinals victory over Western Kentucky in Frisco, Texas. Davis added five rebounds and three steals for FAU.

(4) MIDDLE TENNESSEE 66, (5) CHARLOTTE 65: Camryn Weston led the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders with 22 points and secured the victory with a 3-pointer with 19 seconds remaining as the Blue Raiders defeated the Charlotte 49ers in the quarterfinals. Weston was 8 of 13 shooting, including 3 for 5 from distance.

(2) NORTH TEXAS 74, (10) LOUISIANA TECH 46: Led by Aaron Scott’s 19 points, the North Texas Mean Green defeated the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in the quarterfinals. Scott also contributed six rebounds.

(11) MARIST 75, (3) QUINNIPIAC 59: Patrick Gardner scored 22 points and Marist pulled off its second straight upset, beating Quinnipiac in the quarterfinal round hosted in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The Red Foxes, who eliminated Manhattan in the first round, will play No. 10 seed Saint Peter’s in Friday’s semifinals.

(2) KENT STATE 76, (7) NORTHERN ILLINOIS 57: Led by Malique Jacobs’ 19 points, the Kent State Golden Flashes defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies 76-57 in the quarterfinals hosted in Cleveland, Ohio. Jacobs also contributed three steals for the Golden Flashes.

(5) OHIO 90, (4) BALL STATE 70: AJ Brown led Ohio past Ball State in the quarterfinals with 28 points off of the bench. Brown added seven rebounds and three steals for the Bobcats.

(1) TOLEDO 91, (8) MIAMI-OH 75: Setric Millner Jr. and El Farmer had 19 points each in Toledo’s quarterfinals win against Miami (Ohio). Millner added seven rebounds for the Rockets.

(3) AKRON 101, (6) BUFFALO 77: Xavier Castaneda scored 31 points and Enrique Freeman added 19, leading Akron to a quarterfinals win over Buffalo. The Zips advances to face rival and second-seeded Kent State in Friday’s semifinals.

(4) MARYLAND EASTERN 80, (5) MORGAN STATE 64: Led by Zion Styles’ 19 points, the Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks won their quarterfinals game against the Morgan State Bears in Norfolk, Virginia. Styles shot 7 of 9 from the field and 5 for 7 from the line for the Hawks.

(3) NORFOLK STATE 73, (6) COPPIN STATE 56: Joe Bryant Jr. scored 25 points and Norfolk State cruised to a quarterfinal victory over Coppin State. Bryant also had four steals for the third-seeded Spartans.

(1) SAN DIEGO STATE 64, (8) COLORADO STATE 61: Lamont Butler scored 16 points and No. 20 San Diego State held on to beat Colorado State in the quarterfinals hosted in Las Vegas. San Diego State beat Colorado State for the third time this season. The Aztecs won at Fort Collins 82-76 in overtime and then blew out the Rams 77-58 in San Diego.

(5) SAN JOSE STATE 81, (4) NEVADA 77-OT: Omari Moore scored 26 points and Alvaro Cardenas added seven points in overtime as the San Jose State Spartans defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack in the quarterfinals. Moore had 10 assists for the Spartans.

(2) BOISE STATE 87, (7) UNLV 76-OT: Naje Smith scored six of his 18 points in overtime and Boise State outlasted UNLV in the quarterfinal round. Smith added six rebounds.

(3) JACKSON STATE 62, (6) PRAIRIE VIEW 60: Ken Evans scored 22 points and Romelle Mansel added four points in overtime as the Jackson State Tigers defeated the Prairie View A&M Panthers in the quarterfinals hosted in Birmingham, Alabama. Powers shot 7 for 12 (4 for 7 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line for the Bearkats.

(1) SAM HOUSTON 64, (8) CA BAPTIST 51: Led by Donte Powers’ 21 points, the Sam Houston Bearkats defeated the California Baptist Lancers 64-51 in the quarterfinals hosted in Las Vegas.

(2) UTAH VALLEY 72, (7) TARLETON STATE 58: Justin Harmon scored 23 points to lead Utah Valley to a quarterfinal victory over Tarletom. Harmon added three steals for the second-seeded Wolverines.

(5) GRAND CANYON 84, (4) SEATTLE 79: Gabe McGlothan finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds to power Grand Canyon to a quarterfinal victory over Seattle University. Grand Canyon advances to play second-seeded Southern Utah in the semifinals on Friday.