Kansas Athletics

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Picked as a No. 4 seed for the fifth time in program history, the Kansas men’s basketball team will make its 30th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The nation’s longest-active streak and the best all-time will start against the No. 13-seed Northeastern Huskies in the Midwest Region at approximately 3 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, March 21, in Salt Lake City’s Vivint Smart Home Arena.

Kansas has posted a 25-9 record up to this point in the season and went 12-6 in Big 12 play, good for a third-place finish. The Jayhawks are coming off a run to the Big 12 Championship title game, which they lost, 78-66, to Iowa State. The unveiled bracket paired Kansas against Colonial Athletic Tournament champion Northeastern (23-10, 14-4) in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

This marks the 19th-straight season that the Jayhawks have earned a top-four seed in the NCAA Tournament and the first time KU has been a No. 4 seed since 2006. In head coach Bill Self’s 16 seasons, KU has never been seeded lower than fourth. Kansas has been a No. 4 seed four times prior to this year (1994, 2001, 2004 and 2006). The Jayhawks are 7-4 all-time as a No. 4.

The Jayhawks and Huskies have never met in men’s basketball.

ABOUT KANSAS (25-8, 12-6 Big 12)
Overall, the Jayhawks are making their 48th NCAA Tournament appearance. KU is 107-46 all-time in NCAA Tournament games, including 31 Sweet 16 appearances and 15 trips to the Final Four.

The Jayhawks finished the 2018-19 regular season with a 25-9 record against the nation’s toughest schedule, which included eight victories against top-25 opponents. In conference tournament action, Kansas defeated Texas and West Virginia to advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship final against Iowa State. The Jayhawks fell to the Cyclones 78-68 in the championship game on March 16. Against the No. 1 RPI conference and the nation’s toughest schedule, Kansas collected 11 Quadrant 1 victories.

Kansas is one of six Big 12 Conference teams to earn an NCAA Tournament bid. The six teams are the fourth-most to be representing a conference in the tournament. In all, KU faced 14 NCAA Tournament teams in 2018-19.

Self guided his Jayhawks through a nonconference schedule that included Michigan State, Vermont, Marquette, Tennessee, Wofford, Villanova, New Mexico State, Arizona State and Kentucky, all tournament teams. Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and Sporting News Second Team All-American Dedric Lawson is the team’s top scorer and rebounder, averaging a double-double at 19.1 ppg and 10.3 rpg.

ABOUT NORTHEASTERN (23-10, 14-4 CAA)
The Huskies head to the NCAA Tournament after claiming the Colonial Athletic Tournament title and finishing second in the CAA regular-season race with a 14-4 record.

Four Huskies score in double figures and are led by redshirt-senior guard Vasa Pusica, who scores 17.8 ppg. The All-CAA First Team selection shoots 49.7 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from 3-point range. Pusica is one of three Huskies to shoot better than 40 percent from beyond the arc. NU takes over 25 3-pointers per game and makes 9.8 per contest. Junior guard Brace Bolden is the team’s top rebounder at 6.0 per game and adds 10.0 ppg.

Northeastern is led by head coach Bill Coen. Coen is 224-96 in his 13th year in Boston.

Aside from a 14-4 conference slate, NU will enter postseason play in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, which includes wins in 12 of its last 13 outings. The Huskies’ last loss came on Feb. 16 in overtime at College of Charleston, 88-79.

Kansas State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State was rewarded for a successful season on Sunday, as the Wildcats earned their 31st overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, including the fifth in seven seasons under head coach Bruce Weber.

The Big 12 co-champion, K-State (25-8, 14-4 Big 12) was selected as a No. 4 seed in the South Regional and will travel to San Jose, Calif., to play No. 13 seed and Big West Conference regular-season and tournament champion UC Irvine (30-5, 15-1 Big West) in the first round on Friday, March 22 at SAP Center. The winner will advance to play the winner of the No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-10, 14-6 Big Ten) and No. 12 seed Oregon (23-12, 10-8 Pac-12) on Sunday, March 24.

K-State was the No. 15 overall seed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, including third among the four No. 4 seeds (trailing Kansas and Florida State).

The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 4 seed Virginia Tech (24-8), No. 5 Mississippi State (23-10), No. 12 Liberty (28-6) and No. 13 Saint Louis (22-12) of the East Regional. The top seeds in the South Regional are No. 1 seed Virginia (29-3), No. 2 seed Tennessee (29-4), No. 3 seed Purdue (23-9), No. 4 seed K-State (25-8), No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-10), No. 6 seed Villanova (25-9) and No. 7 seed Cincinnati (28-6).

K-State and UC Irvine will tip off at 1 p.m., CT (11 a.m., PT) with the matchup between No. 5 seed Wisconsin and No. 12 seed Oregon to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The game will be broadcast nationally on TBS with Spero Dedes, Len Elmore, Steve Smith and Ros Gold-Onwude.

Public requests for NCAA Tournament tickets are available until 5 p.m., CT on Monday. Please click here to request tickets exclusively within the K-State allotment. Tickets are priced at $66 (upper level) and $100 (lower level).

K-State is making its 38th postseason appearance, which includes 31 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. The Wildcats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the last 13 seasons, including in three consecutive seasons for the first time since making five straight appearances from 2010 to 2014. The program has now advanced to the postseason 11 times in the last 13 seasons (nine trips to NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT). The 31 overall bids rank 20th nationally, including fourth among Big 12 schools (Kansas [49], Texas [34] and Oklahoma [32]).

In its last NCAA appearance, No. 9 seed K-State advanced to its 12th Elite Eight by knocking off No. 8 seed Creighton (69-59), No. 16 seed UMBC (50-43) and No. 5 seed Kentucky (61-58) before losing to No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago (78-62) in the South Regional Final in Atlanta. Ten current players saw action in one or more of those NCAA Tournament games, including starts in all 3 games by seniors Barry Brown, Jr. and Kamau Stokes and juniors Makol Mawien and Xavier Sneed. K-State has a 10-8 NCAA Tournament mark in its last eight appearances.

The program has posted a 37-34 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including 11-5 in the first round. The school will be making its third consecutive appearance (2017-19) in the South Regional and the fourth overall with the other trip coming in 1993 and is 4-3 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its third appearance as a No. 4 seed and the first since the 2013 NCAA Tournament, in which, the Wildcats lost to No. 13 seed La Salle, 63-61, in the West Regional in Kansas City. The other appearance as a No. 4 seed came in the 1988 NCAA Tournament when the school advanced to the Elite Eight by defeating No. 13 La Salle (66-53), No. 5 DePaul (66-58) and No. 1 Purdue (73-70) before falling to No. 6 Kansas (71-58) in Pontiac, Mich. Overall, the school is 3-2 as a No. 4 seed.

In K-State’s 30 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 17 times. The program has also reached the Elite Eight 12 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).

Head coach Bruce Weber becomes fourth different coach to lead K-State to at least five NCAA Tournament appearances, joining Jack Hartman (1970-86), Tex Winter (1954-68) and Frank Martin (2007-12). Overall, Weber advances to his 13th NCAA Tournament, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41st head coach in NCAA history to take three schools to the tournament, including the 21st active coach. He has a 15-12 record in the NCAA Tournament with four trips to the Sweet 16, two in the Elite Eight and the 2005 Final Four.

K-State earned its fifth 20-win season under Weber and finished as co-champion of the Big 12 with Texas Tech with identical 14-4 marks. The Wildcats have posted 25 wins in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history, while the 14 in Big 12 play tie the 1958-59 and 2012-13 squads for the most in school history. The team is led by All-Big 12 First Team selections Barry Brown, Jr. (14.9 ppg., 4.1 rpg.) and Dean Wade (12.9 ppg., 6.2 rpg.) as well as All-Big 12 Honorable Mention picks Kamau Stokes (10.8 ppg., 3.3 apg.) and Xavier Sneed (10.6 ppg., 5.5 rpg.).

The Big West Conference regular-season and tournament champion, UC Irvine enters Friday’s game with a 30-5 overall record, which has won 16 consecutive games dating back to January 19. The Anteaters boast one of the best defenses in the country, allowing just 63.3 points per game on 38 percent shooting, including 33.2 percent from 3-point range, while grabbing 40.3 rebounds per contest. They are a balanced squad with nine or more players averaging 5 or more points led by Big West Defensive Player of the Year and All-Big West First Team selection Jonathan Galloway (7.0 ppg., 8.0 rpg.), All-Big West Second Team selection Max Hazzard (12.5 ppg., 1.9 rpg.) and All-Big West honorable mention pick Evan Leonard (11.1 ppg., 2.5 rpg.).

UC Irvine is led by head coach Russell Turner, who has a 187-127 (.595) record in 10 seasons at the helm of the Anteaters, which includes six postseason appearances in the last seven seasons.

This will be second meeting between K-State and UC Irvine on the hardwood and in consecutive seasons after the Wildcats earned a 71-49 victory at home on Nov. 17, 2017. Kamau Stokes was one of three Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 14 points, as neither team shot 40 percent from the field.

The winner of Friday’s first-round matchup will face either No. 5 seed Wisconsin (23-10, 14-6 Big Ten) or No. 12 seed Oregon (23-12, 10-8 Pac-12) on Sunday. The Badgers, who placed fourth in the Big Ten, are led three-time First Team All-Big Ten selection Ethan Happ, who leads the squad in scoring (17.5 ppg.), rebounding (10.1 rpg.) and assists (4.6 apg.). All-Big Ten honorable mention pick D’Mitrik Trice averages 11.7 points per game.

Led by former K-State head coach Dana Altman, the Pac-12 Tournament champion Ducks are one of the hottest teams in the country with eight consecutive wins since Feb. 23. Three players are averaging in double figures led by Pac-12 honorable mention selection Louis King (13.1 ppg.), Pac-12 Tournament MVP Payton Prichard (12.7 ppg.) and Paul White (10.6 ppg.). Pac-12 All-Defensive Team member Kenny Wooten has a team-high 62 blocks.

K-State is 2-4 all-time against Wisconsin, including 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament (2008, 2011), and 2-2 all-time against Oregon, including losing a home-and-home series in 2007 and 2008.

The four teams are among the best defensive teams in the country, allowing 59.2 points (K-State), Wisconsin (61.4 ppg.), Oregon (62.9 ppg.) and UC Irvine (63.3 ppg.) to all rank in the Top 20 nationally in scoring defense.

K-State was one of eight Big 12 teams to earn berths to the NCAA Tournament and NIT, including six in the Big Dance, joining No. 3 seed Texas Tech (West), No. 4 seed Kansas (Midwest), No. 6 seed Iowa State (Midwest) and No. 9 seeds Baylor (West) and Oklahoma (South). In addition, TCU is a No. 1 seed and Texas a No. 2 seed in the NIT.
The Big 12 has eight or more combined teams in the two tournaments for the second straight season.

In addition, all three Division I programs in the state of Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State) all advanced to the NCAA Tournament or NIT for sixth time in eight seasons.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lindell Wigginton found his way to Iowa State from Canada, Marial Shayok took a detour through the University of Virginia, and Michael Jacobson started his career at the University of Nebraska.

Three players from three very different backgrounds now have something in common: a title.

The trio helped the fifth-seeded Cyclones race to a big early lead against No. 17 Kansas on Saturday night, then contributed to enough crucial stops down the stretch, preserving a 78-66 victory over the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament finale at Sprint Center.

“When you do something special, you win a championship, you got a connection for the rest of your life,” said Cyclones coach Steve Prohm, who brought together his team from far and wide.

“Hopefully this is just step one. We’ll enjoy this for a while, figure out where we’re going for the NCAA Tournament and then we’ll focus on that.”

Wigginton finished with 17 points, Shayok had 15 on his way to winning tournament MVP, and Jacobson finished with 14 for the Cyclones (23-11), who became the lowest-seeded team ever to win the conference tournament. They also improved to 2-0 against Kansas (25-9) in the finals.

“I think it was our best team win of the year because it was gritty,” said Shayok, who like Jacobson sat out last season after transferring. “Everybody stepped up.”

Dedric Lawson had 18 points and Devon Dotson added 17 for the third-seeded Jayhawks, whose last chance to win some hardware will be the NCAA Tournament. Their run of 14 consecutive regular-season crowns ended last weekend, and they failed to defend their Big 12 Tournament title.

“The way we competed, we showed some signs where we really wanted to win this game,” Dotson said. “But they hit some tough shots. We were missing some of our easy shots we usually make.”

Meanwhile, the Cyclones made a tremendous about-face during their stay in Kansas City.

They arrived having lost five of their last six regular-season games, and looked rudderless in losses to Texas and lowly West Virginia. But beginning with a blowout of Baylor and continuing with a quarterfinal win over regular-season champ Kansas State, the Cyclones found their stride.

The Jayhawks, still looking for their own, were fortunate to trail 32-22 at halftime.

Lawson, who had 24 points in the semifinals, was 2 of 11 from the field. Marcus Garrett was 0 for 6 from the floor and 1 of 4 from the foul line. Quentin Grimes was 0 or 4 from beyond the arc after hitting five 3-pointers in their win over the Mountaineers on Friday night.

All told, the Jayhawks shot 27.8 percent from the field and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half. They also were just 2 of 8 from the free-throw line.

“Just one of those nights,” Grimes said. “Every one of the shots we put up was a good shot.”

Iowa State had its own trouble on the offensive end of the floor, getting five shots swatted into the seats. But the Cyclones were effective at getting to the rim, and easy layups by Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton allowed them to take control.

Their lead swelled to 41-24 early in the second half. And even when the Jayhawks managed to nip into it, they would inevitably miss an open layup or throw the ball away.

Or, Jacobson would knock down an unlikely 3-pointer.

That was the case when the Jayhawks trimmed the deficit to 45-35 with 14 minutes to go. Iowa State’s big man calmly drained one from the top of the arc — all Kansas coach Bill Self could do was smile in disbelief — and Steve Prohm’s squad promptly ripped off seven straight points.

“We just didn’t make those plays that you need in order to put some real game pressure on them,” Self said. “They were better than us, make no mistake.”

Frustration eventually set in for the Jayhawks down the stretch.

After cutting their deficit to single-digits on several occasions, including 72-63 with 1:21 to go, the Cyclones kept answering. And after Grimes was called for a foul on Wigginton, Lawson spiked the ball under the basket and was whistled for a technical foul.

Shayok made the two technical foul shots, Wigginton made two more, and the chants of “Let’s Go Cyclones!” began to reverberate throughout Sprint Center in celebration of another title.

“This is a special night. Kansas is a tremendous program,” Prohm said, “and you can talk about Coach Self forever. But our guys answered the bell We came down here and won each game in different ways. We showed our toughness. We showed our togetherness.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State has leaned on Shayok and Talen Horton-Tucker much of the season, but Wigginton and Haliburton shined in Kansas City. Wigginton is averaging more than 15 points over his last five games while Haliburton continues to lead the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Kansas started freshman center David McCormack, but the Cyclones’ guard-oriented lineup forced the Jayhawks to match their personnel. Charlie Moore and the rest of their guards struggled shooting the ball, and they were unable to get crucial defensive stops down the stretch.

UP NEXT

Both teams will learn their NCAA Tournament destinations Sunday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — As Cincinnati expected, Wichita State had one last run down the stretch — enough to pull even, but not overtake the No. 24 Bearcats.

Nysier Brooks scored 13 points and Cane Broome hit the go-ahead layup with 23.5 seconds left to give No. 24 Cincinnati a 66-63 victory over Wichita State in Saturday’s semifinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament.

The victory was the second of Saturday’s semifinals where the underdog tried to overtake the better seed. Memphis rallied, but fell to Houston 61-58. That sets up the championship showdown between the conference’s top two teams – Cincinnati as the No. 2 seed and top-seeded Houston.

“This is the time of year that you are not into splitting atoms,” Bearcat coach Mick Cronin said. “You win and move on.”

Tre Scott had 12 points and eight rebounds, Jarron Cumberland, the conference player of the year, was limited to 11 points going 3 of 16 from the field.

Markis McDuffie, who had a career-high 34 points in the Shockers quarterfinal 80-74 win over third-seed Temple on Friday night, scored 18 for the Shockers (19-14), the tournament’s No. 6 seed. Samajae Haynes-Jones had 17, despite missing six of his seven 3-point attempts.

“We were one play short against a very, very good team, a very well-coached team, a team that’s going to go to the NCAA tournament and hopefully advance pretty deep,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said.

Cincinnati appeared in control with a 62-55 lead with 4:44 left, when the Shockers made their run. They eventually would catch the Bearcats at 62-all, then again deadlocked at 63.

The 63-all tie came after Wichita State’s Jaime Echenique split a pair of free throws with 46.7 seconds left.

On the ensuing Cincinnati possession Broome got to the rim for a layup and a Bearcat lead of 65-63 with 23.5 second left.

“Big basket, obviously, for Cane Broome down the stretch,” Cronin said. “Jarron Cumberland set a great screen.”

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall called timeout to set up a play. McDuffie drove on Cincinnati’s Keith Williams, but missed in close. The Bearcats grabbed the rebound and Cumberland split a pair of free throws for the final margin.

Win and advance; survive and advance,” Cronin said.

For Marshall, despite the loss, the season was rewarding. The Shockers were not expected to have their normal good team this season, and started out living up to those expectations. Wichita State started the conference 1-6 before closing the season winning 11 of 13 before Saturday’s semifinal loss.

“It’s been very rewarding to watch just the individuals as well as the team collectively improve to get to this point where we were one play shy of playing for a championship,” Marshall said.

BIG PICTURE

Wichita State: The Shockers entered the game having won six straight, including beating No. 3 seed Temple on Friday night. Despite trailing by seven — 62-55 with 4:44 left — the Shockers made seven of their next eight shots and put together a 9-2 run to deadlock the game. But Broome’s layup kept the Shockers from extending their winning streak.

Cincinnati: Cumberland struggled throughout the game, and dealt with foul trouble in the second half. But while he was out, the Bearcats were able to extend their lead. That was significant in providing a buffer as Wichita State made its comeback.

ONE MORE CHANCE

Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin said he wanted to reach the championship game, not only to play for the crown, but also because “my feeling is Houston is as good as anybody in the country.”

Then there is the fact that the Cougars have won both games between the two teams this season. “Obviously, you want to try and right the fact that they beat you twice,” Cronin said. “That doesn’t happen a lot around Cincinnati.”

UP NEXT

Wichita State: Waits to see if they get a postseason invitation.

Cincinnati: Faces top-seed Houston in Sunday’s title game.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dedric Lawson poured in 24 points, Quentin Grimes added 18 before leaving late with cramps and No. 17 Kansas roared away from West Virginia for an 88-74 victory Friday night in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

Devon Dotson added 13 points and Marcus Garrett had 11 for the third-seeded and reigning champion Jayhawks (25-8). They advanced to play No. 5 seed Iowa State for the title Saturday night.

Kansas has advanced to the championship game three of the past four years.

The 10th-seeded Mountaineers (14-20) led much of the first half and hung tough early in the second, but three games in three days finally caught up to them. Tough wins over Oklahoma and No. 8 Texas Tech left them with tired legs — probably minds, too — and the Jayhawks eventually went on a 13-2 run midway through the second half to seize control.

The lead reached 20 with 7 1/2 minutes to go, and the Jayhawks cruised the rest of the way.

Lamont West led West Virginia with 16 points. Derek Culver had 14.

Kansas has won the tournament 11 times, and Iowa State is unbeaten in four championship trips, but the two teams have met in the finals just once: The Cyclones won 70-66 in 2015.

Grimes has struggled with his shot most of the season, to say nothing of living up to his five-star status out of high school. But the freshman guard found his stroke from the opening minute, when he buried the first of five first-half 3-pointers to get the Jayhawks off and running.

West Virginia pulled ahead midway through the half, but Grimes added three more 3s to regain the lead, then hit a buzzer-beater from 30 feet to give the Jayhawks a 48-40 advantage.

Lawson fueled their clinching run, getting it started with an easy basket and added another bucket and a 3-pointer during the 13-2 charge. By the time Garrett finished it off, a crowd heavily in favor of Kansas was buzzing about the opportunity to face the Cyclones.

OOPS MOMENT

The Jayhawks were ahead 75-58 with 6:33 left when West hit a pair of free throws. Freshman big man David McCormack gathered the ball while standing out of bounds and tossed it to Garrett for the inbounds. But when Garrett stepped over the out-of-bounds line, it wound up being a turnover, and Bill Self immediately called timeout to lay into his team on the bench.

BIG PICTURE

West Virginia lost four players to injuries, transfers and dismissals, and it left them with very little depth. That appeared to play a factor in the second half, when the Jayhawks began to get up and down the floor and the Mountaineers were unable to keep up .

Kansas has played this week with a chip on its shoulder after failing to win a share of the regular-season title. Now, the Jayhawks have a chance to match the 1999 team by winning the tournament as a No. 3 seed, and perhaps help their NCAA Tournament seeding on Selection Sunday.

UP NEXT

Kansas plays the Cyclones for the championship Saturday night.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Marial Shayok had watched shot after shot hit everything but net Friday night, and Iowa State’s leading scorer and veteran leader could very well have grown hesitant and frustrated.

Instead, he hit the two biggest shots of the game.

Shayok rattled in a tying 3-pointer down the stretch, swished another from right in front of his own bench, then added a couple of free throws in the closing seconds to help the fifth-seeded Cyclones beat No. 15 Kansas State 63-59 in the Big 12 semifinals.

“I had all the confidence in the world,” Shayok said, “despite missing a bunch of shots in the second half. I just kept my confidence. This team has my back and the coaches have my back.”

Shayok finished with 21 points, Nick Weiler-Babb added 12 and Iowa State (22-11) advanced to play Kansas or West Virginia on Saturday night. The Cyclones are 4-0 when playing for the title.

“We had lots of chances,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “Shayok with the big 3 when we were all struggling making shots — he stepped up and made that big 3 that turned the game.”

Cartier Diarra had 15 points to lead five players in double figures for the Wildcats (25-8), who shared the regular-season title with Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were bounced from the tournament by the 10th-seeded Mountaineers in the quarterfinals Friday night.

The Wildcats once again played without All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade, who sat on the bench with a walking boot on his right foot. It remains unclear whether he’ll be ready for the NCAA Tournament.

“We know that it’s win-or-go home. You have to play together at all times,” Diarra said. “I think that’s the biggest thing moving forward, just keeping that mindset, and focusing on who we’re going to be playing against and not looking ahead.”

Kansas State got off to a hot start, unlike its quarterfinal win over TCU, but the Cyclones and their massive contingent of fans slowly turned the tide late in the first half.

It began when Sneed missed a layup for the Wildcats and Tyrese Haliburton scored a third-chance basket at the other end for Iowa State. Kansas State went on to miss 12 straight field-goal attempts while the high-flying Cyclones went on a 21-4 charge to end the half.

Momentum promptly switched in the locker room.

The Wildcats, who had the Big 12’s best defense this season, buckled down to start the second half, and they put together an 11-0 run that made it 38-all with 15 minutes to go.

“Their teams are so tough. They’re resilient. They have championship DNA,” Cyclones coach Steve Prohm said. “We talked at halftime how those guys were going to respond.”

They kept the run going, too, when Diarra was whacked on the way to the basket and needed to get treatment on the sideline after his free throws. Sneed finally knocked down a 3-pointer, Makol Mawien added a bucket in the paint, and Barry Brown’s fast-break layup forced Iowa State to call timeout.

The Cyclones still trailed 55-52 when Shayok’s first 3 bounced off the rim, then off the glass and dropped through. Then, after Diarra missed a 3 at the other end, Shayok hit his go-ahead 3.

Brown’s driving layup got Kansas State to 59-57 with 20.3 seconds left, but Weiler-Babb answered with a pair of free throws. Shayok answered two by Kansas State’s Xavier Sneed with two more of his own, and a team that struggled late in the season began celebrating a trip to the finals.

“We got back to competing in practice, just working hard and going at each other,” said the Cyclones’ Michael Jacobson. “I mean, to be honest, sometimes you have to hit rock-bottom and start building back up, and I think that’s what has happened to us.”

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State won despite committing 17 turnovers and struggling from the field for most of the second half. The Cyclones also won without much help from sharpshooter Talen Horton-Tucker, who had six points on 3-for-10 shooting.

Kansas State could use Wade if it expects to do damage in the NCAA Tournament. He’s the go-to guy when times get tough, and the 6-foot-10 forward probably couldn’t have helped stop the Cyclones’ big run at the end of the first half.

UP NEXT

Iowa State will play the West Virginia-Kansas winner for the title.