KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State coach Jeff Mittie doesn’t remember exactly what he said in that 30-second timeout a few minutes into the fourth quarter on Thursday afternoon. But given the way his Wildcats ended the game, he’ll almost surely be replaying that conversation, trying to figure it out.
“I told them if we could get this thing under 5 at the five-minute mark, then we’d have a ballgame,” Mittie told reporters after the team’s second-round victory over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.
“They did better than I asked them to do.”
The Wildcats entered that timeout trailing by 12 and pieced together a 21-point run to end the game. The 58-51 victory earned them a spot in the quarterfinals and marked the first time since 2008 that a No. 12 seed beat a No. 5 seed. Kansas State will face No. 4 seed Oklahoma State at 11 a.m. CT on Friday.
“Basketball is such a cool sport because anything can happen,” senior guard Tess Heal told reporters after the game. “You have to keep going no matter what.”
And Heal wasn’t going to leave it to chance, either. She hit a jumper out of the timeout, added two layups and knocked down both of her free throw chances to help seal the victory. Eight of her 10 points and three of her four baskets came in that quarter.
Junior forward Nastja Claessens led the Wildcats in scoring, putting on a show for her family, who was visiting from Waregem, Belgium. She scored 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds. She hit three crucial free throws in the final quarter.
Kansas State (17-16, 8-10 Big 12) is now one game over .500, despite having one of the youngest rosters among Power Five programs, and hopes to make a late run to the postseason. The Wildcats also boast two wins over Texas Tech, which was ranked No. 18 in the country when they met in January and No. 21 on Thursday.
They also beat Oklahoma State in their last matchup on Feb. 10, overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit.
Missed Day 1 of the Big 12 Tournament? Catch up here.
Arizona State 77, Iowa State 68
As Gabby Elliott settled in for Thursday’s postgame press conference, she glanced at the stat sheet in front of her. Elliott’s eyes got big, then she turned to teammate McKinna Brackens. The two laughed quietly.
Presumably, it was Elliott’s own stat line that took her by surprise: 22 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. She led No. 10 seed Arizona State in all three categories as it took down No. 7 seed Iowa State 77-68.
The key to Elliott’s near-triple-double?
“We were really out there running on vibes,” Elliott said. “The energy that we were feeding off from each other was just so high that I was in the moment for sure.”
Arizona State jumped out to an early 17-2 lead, knocking Iowa State off balance, despite the Cyclone-friendly crowd that filled the stands. Heloisa Carrera scored 12 points in the first period alone to fuel the attack.
Iowa State went on a few runs to cut into the lead but never pulled ahead. It shot just 36% in the game and 7-for-36 (19%) beyond the arc.
Arizona State moves on to face second-seeded West Virginia in Friday’s quarterfinal.
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BYU 70, Utah 52
BYU wasn’t flashy in the third quarter on Thursday, but the Cougars were effective, shooting 53% from the field and recording assists on five of their eight baskets. They erased a 9-point halftime deficit before cruising to a 70-52 victory against in-state rival Utah.
“We’ve talked all season about being a team that plays together and plays for each other,” sophomore guard Delaney Gibb said. “It’s fun basketball to play. We work super hard on defense, and I think that transitions into easy offensive points.”
The ninth-seeded Cougars struggled offensively in the first half, shooting just 9-for-32 from the field, but stayed within striking distance of the eighth-seeded Utes. Then, as Utah cooled off from its 48% first-half shooting, BYU chipped away and took back the lead with two minutes to go in the third. Ultimately, BYU outscored Utah 43-16 in the final two frames.
BYU will face Big 12 regular-season champion TCU when the quarterfinals commence on Friday. TCU won the December game in Provo, Utah, 72-48.
Colorado 55, Kansas 48
The No. 11 seed Colorado Buffaloes never held a commanding lead on the scoreboard, but the way they limited No. 6 seed Kansas’ high-powered offense kept them in total control in a 55-48 victory.
Kansas paced the Big 12, averaging 49.2% shooting from the field during conference play, but it shot just 35.8% in this contest. Colorado also shut down Big 12 Freshman of the Year Jaliya Davis, who ranked second in the conference in scoring, holding her to just two free throws before a fourth-quarter floater in the lane. She finished with 8 points, shooting 2-for-9 from the field.
“I told the team, that sure wasn’t pretty, but in March it doesn’t have to be,” Colorado coach JR Payne said. “Just a great team effort.”
S’Mya Nichols did her best to keep the Jayhawks in the game, scoring a game-high 14 points. She was the team’s lone scorer in a 7-point second quarter. Defensively, Kansas forced 20 turnovers, which were also crucial to keeping the score close.
Logyn Greer and Desiree Wooten led Colorado in scoring with 10 points each. Greer went 4-for-7 and hit both 3-pointers she attempted. The Buffaloes advance to face Baylor in the quarterfinals on Friday.
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