Big XII Tournament Basketball Results -- CU in Semis; OSU Lost Heartbreaker to KU; OU Crushed by Tex
Big 12: CU beats K-State again, boosts bubble hopes
March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When Colorado waltzed in and beat nationally ranked Kansas State two months ago, ending a nine-game losing streak to the Wildcats, Cory Higgins sounded a warning. "It's a whole new Colorado," the senior said.
Indeed, it is. Higgins scored 28 points, Alec Burks added 24 and the Buffaloes made it three in a row against Kansas State on Thursday, ousting the No. 19 Wildcats 87-75 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Kansas State had dominated Colorado for years. But now, for the first time in a series that began in 1933, the Buffaloes have beaten the Wildcats three times in one season. "We beat a great team three times," Higgins said. "It can't be a fluke all three times."
Colorado (21-12) was the only team to beat the streaking Wildcats (22-10) in their final nine games. And the latest win was a big one for the Buffaloes as they try to secure an NCAA tournament bid in their final season as a member of the Big 12 before packing up for the Pac-10. "People will see the results of this game and see the fact that K-State's playing at a high level," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "Those guys are good and they're playing very, very well right now. We beat a good team. We're not backing into this thing. I try not to talk about things I don't have control over. But this is our sixth top-50 RPI win of the season. I don't know how many bubble teams have six."
Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly had 18 points apiece for Kansas State, which rode a six-game winning streak into the tournament. Kelly also had 10 rebounds. "They beat us three times, so they're just better than we are, no ifs, ands or buts about it," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "That's been proven on the floor."
Higgins had 19 points in the second half, picking up the slack while Burks struggled with three fouls and spent much of the time on the bench. The Buffaloes closed the game on a 14-3 run, sinking eight straight free throws during one stretch. They were 23 of 27 from the line. "We feed off each other," Higgins said of himself and Burks. "Throughout the year we talk to each other during the game. It's hard for teams to shut down both of us. We just pick each other up."
Andre Roberson had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Colorado.
Burks, shadowed by Pullen, picked up three quick fouls in the second half and went to the bench. But Higgins took control and scored 10 straight points, keeping Colorado close until its all-Big 12 guard got back in the game.
Kelly's tip-in and Will Spradling's 3-pointer sliced Colorado's lead to 70-69 before Marcus Relphorde hit a 3-pointer from the baseline. After Spradling's driving layup cut it to 73-72, Burks went to the line and hit both ends of a 1-and-1.
With 1:23 to go, Kansas State inbounded the ball and Spradling put up a 3-pointer that missed. Burks batted away Rodney McGruder's follow attempt and Devon Peterson was called for a foul. Relphorde, with 59.9 seconds to go, made both foul shots for a 77-72 lead. Roberson made a foul shot and Higgins made two before Roberson's layup gave the Buffs, a longtime Big 12 doormat, a comfortable lead.
"We made some bad decisions," Pullen said. "It's the same thing that plagued us when we weren't doing well in the Big 12. We were undisciplined, we gave up some easy shots and we made some bad decisions on offense and it cost us the game. At this time of year, you can't have those type of breakdowns or those type of lapses, or you'll never be able to beat a good team."
Earlier, with Burks on the bench, Higgins hit two free throws, Pullen canned a 3-pointer for a 55-50 lead, and then Higgins went inside for a contested bucket and followed that with a driving layup that cut the lead to 55-54.
After Peterson scored for Kansas State, Higgins answered with another basket. Levi Knutson's two foul shots and long 3-pointer put Colorado on top 61-57.
The Wildcats tied it 62-all on Pullen's 3-pointer, then Higgins hit a fallaway jumper and followed that with a driving layup. Burks, with just his second bucket of the second half, tipped in a shot and Higgins made a floater in the lane, capping an 8-2 run for a 70-64 lead with 3:31 to play.
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No. 2 Kansas holds off Oklahoma State in Big 12
March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Oklahoma State had a good game plan against No. 2 Kansas. If not for all that foul trouble, it might have been good enough to pull off a major upset. Mario Little's three-point play broke a tie with 71 seconds to go and the depleted Cowboys missed a desperation heave at the buzzer, allowing the Jayhawks to escape with a 63-62 victory Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Oklahoma State, routed by Kansas last month, led by as many as eight and did a good job of keeping Marcus and Markieff Morris from operating down low, forcing the 14-point favorites to put up an uncharacteristic 25 3-pointers. They made only five and were in trouble the entire game.
"We usually shoot about 30 percent of our shots as 3s," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "When we're playing well, it's more like 10-15 percent. That's as tight as anybody has played us all year. They went zone. The looks we were going to get were guys open on the perimeter. When the bigs went out, they probably condensed it more and we didn't make them pay."
Marcus Morris, the Big 12 player of the year, had 16 points and 11 rebounds but was shut down for most of the second half until he hit a key 3-pointer for the Jayhawks (30-2).
Keiton Page had 23 points and Jean-Paul Olukemi scored 17 for Oklahoma State (19-13). The Cowboys were 18 for 21 from the foul line but had three of their big men foul out. Kansas was only 12 of 21 from the line.
Marcus Morris hadn't made a field goal since the 8:26 mark of the first half when he drilled a 3 that put the Jayhawks ahead 58-54 with 4:07 left. "The Morris 3, from about 35 feet, was the biggest shot of the game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "That was huge. That was bigger than the one we missed at the end." About 30 seconds after Marcus connected, Markieff fouled out and Olukemi made both foul shots.
With 2:55 to go, Marshall Moses, Oklahoma State's top scorer all season, became the third Cowboys player to go to the bench with his fifth foul. But Page, finding an open space down the middle, hit a floater that made it 60-58.
With 1:28 left, Page tied it at 60 with two more fouls shots, and that's when Little worked inside for a bucket, got fouled and made the free throw for a 63-60 Kansas lead. Olukemi cut the deficit to 63-62 with a 10-foot jumper. "We were doing everything, all the little things, to try to come up with a win tonight, all the loose rebounds, helping everybody on rotation rebounding," Page said. "Those are the types of things you have to do to win a game against a team like Kansas."
The Jayhawks gave up the ball on a shot-clock violation with 20 seconds left, but Olukemi's desperation heave missed at the buzzer.
"I was praying a little bit at the end," Self said. "We couldn't keep them off the free throw line. I was more concerned about us fouling than them making a shot."
Markieff Morris had 10 points and Brady Morningstar 11 for Kansas, which shot only 36 percent -- far below its nation-leading season average of 51.8 percent.
The Jayhawks, who beat Oklahoma State 92-65 last month, struggled to regain the lead and Little brought a roar from the partisan Kansas crowd with a 3 that finally tied it 47-all. Then Tyshawn Taylor, with an assist from Thomas Robinson, got a layup for a 51-50 lead. "Rio [Little] is our off-the-bench spark," Marcus Morris said. "When he came in with about 1½ minutes to go and missed a couple of middle shots, I told him to just stay aggressive because they were small and that gave me a better chance of getting it off of the rebounds."
But the Jayhawks started running into foul trouble of their own. Markieff Morris got his fourth foul with 10:32 to go and 3 minutes later point guard Elijah Johnson picked up his third and fourth fouls within seconds of each other.
In spite of drawing two technical fouls, the Cowboys led by as many as eight in the first half and took a 41-35 lead into intermission. Olukemi was whistled for a technical early in the first half after a dunk and Markel Brown drew a "T" for saying something to a Kansas player when the Cowboys took possession after a furious struggle for a rebound under the Kansas basket.
But in each case, Tyrel Reed, Kansas' best free throw shooter, was able to convert only one foul shot.
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Pair of double-doubles leads Texas to rout of OU
March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson each had a double-double, helping No. 10 Texas cruise past Oklahoma 74-54 on Thursday night in a lopsided quarterfinal at the Big 12 tournament. The Longhorns, who beat Oklahoma for the third time this season and 11th in 13 meetings, led by as many as 25 and never let the Sooners (14-18) get closer than 13 after that.
Hamilton had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Thompson totaled 13 points and 11 boards for second-seeded Texas (26-5), which lost three of its last five in the regular season to finish second in the Big 12 behind No. 2 Kansas.
Oklahoma got 17 points from Cade Davis in a foul-plagued game. Officials called 21 fouls on Oklahoma and 14 on the Longhorns, who had a 39-23 rebounding edge and held the Sooners to 3-of-13 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
Hamilton had a bucket and Jai Lucas connected on the game's first 3-pointer as the Longhorns got off to an 11-2 start, setting the tone for the entire evening.
The Texas defense, which held Oklahoma to a season-low 46 points in a 66-46 blowout on Jan. 15, forced the Sooners into 23 percent shooting. The Longhorns gave up only one conventional basket over the first 8:38. Davis had a field goal early in the half and that was the Sooners' only true bucket until Davis scored at the 11:22 mark to make it 11-6. In between, Andrew Fitzgerald was awarded two points on basket interference.
The Sooners made a mild run in the second half, chipping a 43-20 halftime lead down to 53-39 with an 8-0 spurt that included Davis' 3-pointer and three free throws by Steven Pledger after J'Covan Brown fouled him behind the arc. A few minutes later, Calvin Newell's two foul shots got Oklahoma to 65-52.
But Thompson answered with a huge dunk off a nifty feed from Brown, and Gary Johnson converted a three-point play to quickly build the lead to 70-52.
Fitzgerald had 10 points for Oklahoma.
March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When Colorado waltzed in and beat nationally ranked Kansas State two months ago, ending a nine-game losing streak to the Wildcats, Cory Higgins sounded a warning. "It's a whole new Colorado," the senior said.
Indeed, it is. Higgins scored 28 points, Alec Burks added 24 and the Buffaloes made it three in a row against Kansas State on Thursday, ousting the No. 19 Wildcats 87-75 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Kansas State had dominated Colorado for years. But now, for the first time in a series that began in 1933, the Buffaloes have beaten the Wildcats three times in one season. "We beat a great team three times," Higgins said. "It can't be a fluke all three times."
Colorado (21-12) was the only team to beat the streaking Wildcats (22-10) in their final nine games. And the latest win was a big one for the Buffaloes as they try to secure an NCAA tournament bid in their final season as a member of the Big 12 before packing up for the Pac-10. "People will see the results of this game and see the fact that K-State's playing at a high level," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said. "Those guys are good and they're playing very, very well right now. We beat a good team. We're not backing into this thing. I try not to talk about things I don't have control over. But this is our sixth top-50 RPI win of the season. I don't know how many bubble teams have six."
Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly had 18 points apiece for Kansas State, which rode a six-game winning streak into the tournament. Kelly also had 10 rebounds. "They beat us three times, so they're just better than we are, no ifs, ands or buts about it," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "That's been proven on the floor."
Higgins had 19 points in the second half, picking up the slack while Burks struggled with three fouls and spent much of the time on the bench. The Buffaloes closed the game on a 14-3 run, sinking eight straight free throws during one stretch. They were 23 of 27 from the line. "We feed off each other," Higgins said of himself and Burks. "Throughout the year we talk to each other during the game. It's hard for teams to shut down both of us. We just pick each other up."
Andre Roberson had 11 points and 14 rebounds for Colorado.
Burks, shadowed by Pullen, picked up three quick fouls in the second half and went to the bench. But Higgins took control and scored 10 straight points, keeping Colorado close until its all-Big 12 guard got back in the game.
Kelly's tip-in and Will Spradling's 3-pointer sliced Colorado's lead to 70-69 before Marcus Relphorde hit a 3-pointer from the baseline. After Spradling's driving layup cut it to 73-72, Burks went to the line and hit both ends of a 1-and-1.
With 1:23 to go, Kansas State inbounded the ball and Spradling put up a 3-pointer that missed. Burks batted away Rodney McGruder's follow attempt and Devon Peterson was called for a foul. Relphorde, with 59.9 seconds to go, made both foul shots for a 77-72 lead. Roberson made a foul shot and Higgins made two before Roberson's layup gave the Buffs, a longtime Big 12 doormat, a comfortable lead.
"We made some bad decisions," Pullen said. "It's the same thing that plagued us when we weren't doing well in the Big 12. We were undisciplined, we gave up some easy shots and we made some bad decisions on offense and it cost us the game. At this time of year, you can't have those type of breakdowns or those type of lapses, or you'll never be able to beat a good team."
Earlier, with Burks on the bench, Higgins hit two free throws, Pullen canned a 3-pointer for a 55-50 lead, and then Higgins went inside for a contested bucket and followed that with a driving layup that cut the lead to 55-54.
After Peterson scored for Kansas State, Higgins answered with another basket. Levi Knutson's two foul shots and long 3-pointer put Colorado on top 61-57.
The Wildcats tied it 62-all on Pullen's 3-pointer, then Higgins hit a fallaway jumper and followed that with a driving layup. Burks, with just his second bucket of the second half, tipped in a shot and Higgins made a floater in the lane, capping an 8-2 run for a 70-64 lead with 3:31 to play.
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No. 2 Kansas holds off Oklahoma State in Big 12
March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Oklahoma State had a good game plan against No. 2 Kansas. If not for all that foul trouble, it might have been good enough to pull off a major upset. Mario Little's three-point play broke a tie with 71 seconds to go and the depleted Cowboys missed a desperation heave at the buzzer, allowing the Jayhawks to escape with a 63-62 victory Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Oklahoma State, routed by Kansas last month, led by as many as eight and did a good job of keeping Marcus and Markieff Morris from operating down low, forcing the 14-point favorites to put up an uncharacteristic 25 3-pointers. They made only five and were in trouble the entire game.
"We usually shoot about 30 percent of our shots as 3s," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "When we're playing well, it's more like 10-15 percent. That's as tight as anybody has played us all year. They went zone. The looks we were going to get were guys open on the perimeter. When the bigs went out, they probably condensed it more and we didn't make them pay."
Marcus Morris, the Big 12 player of the year, had 16 points and 11 rebounds but was shut down for most of the second half until he hit a key 3-pointer for the Jayhawks (30-2).
Keiton Page had 23 points and Jean-Paul Olukemi scored 17 for Oklahoma State (19-13). The Cowboys were 18 for 21 from the foul line but had three of their big men foul out. Kansas was only 12 of 21 from the line.
Marcus Morris hadn't made a field goal since the 8:26 mark of the first half when he drilled a 3 that put the Jayhawks ahead 58-54 with 4:07 left. "The Morris 3, from about 35 feet, was the biggest shot of the game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "That was huge. That was bigger than the one we missed at the end." About 30 seconds after Marcus connected, Markieff fouled out and Olukemi made both foul shots.
With 2:55 to go, Marshall Moses, Oklahoma State's top scorer all season, became the third Cowboys player to go to the bench with his fifth foul. But Page, finding an open space down the middle, hit a floater that made it 60-58.
With 1:28 left, Page tied it at 60 with two more fouls shots, and that's when Little worked inside for a bucket, got fouled and made the free throw for a 63-60 Kansas lead. Olukemi cut the deficit to 63-62 with a 10-foot jumper. "We were doing everything, all the little things, to try to come up with a win tonight, all the loose rebounds, helping everybody on rotation rebounding," Page said. "Those are the types of things you have to do to win a game against a team like Kansas."
The Jayhawks gave up the ball on a shot-clock violation with 20 seconds left, but Olukemi's desperation heave missed at the buzzer.
"I was praying a little bit at the end," Self said. "We couldn't keep them off the free throw line. I was more concerned about us fouling than them making a shot."
Markieff Morris had 10 points and Brady Morningstar 11 for Kansas, which shot only 36 percent -- far below its nation-leading season average of 51.8 percent.
The Jayhawks, who beat Oklahoma State 92-65 last month, struggled to regain the lead and Little brought a roar from the partisan Kansas crowd with a 3 that finally tied it 47-all. Then Tyshawn Taylor, with an assist from Thomas Robinson, got a layup for a 51-50 lead. "Rio [Little] is our off-the-bench spark," Marcus Morris said. "When he came in with about 1½ minutes to go and missed a couple of middle shots, I told him to just stay aggressive because they were small and that gave me a better chance of getting it off of the rebounds."
But the Jayhawks started running into foul trouble of their own. Markieff Morris got his fourth foul with 10:32 to go and 3 minutes later point guard Elijah Johnson picked up his third and fourth fouls within seconds of each other.
In spite of drawing two technical fouls, the Cowboys led by as many as eight in the first half and took a 41-35 lead into intermission. Olukemi was whistled for a technical early in the first half after a dunk and Markel Brown drew a "T" for saying something to a Kansas player when the Cowboys took possession after a furious struggle for a rebound under the Kansas basket.
But in each case, Tyrel Reed, Kansas' best free throw shooter, was able to convert only one foul shot.
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Pair of double-doubles leads Texas to rout of OU
March 10, 2011
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Jordan Hamilton and Tristan Thompson each had a double-double, helping No. 10 Texas cruise past Oklahoma 74-54 on Thursday night in a lopsided quarterfinal at the Big 12 tournament. The Longhorns, who beat Oklahoma for the third time this season and 11th in 13 meetings, led by as many as 25 and never let the Sooners (14-18) get closer than 13 after that.
Hamilton had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Thompson totaled 13 points and 11 boards for second-seeded Texas (26-5), which lost three of its last five in the regular season to finish second in the Big 12 behind No. 2 Kansas.
Oklahoma got 17 points from Cade Davis in a foul-plagued game. Officials called 21 fouls on Oklahoma and 14 on the Longhorns, who had a 39-23 rebounding edge and held the Sooners to 3-of-13 shooting from behind the 3-point line.
Hamilton had a bucket and Jai Lucas connected on the game's first 3-pointer as the Longhorns got off to an 11-2 start, setting the tone for the entire evening.
The Texas defense, which held Oklahoma to a season-low 46 points in a 66-46 blowout on Jan. 15, forced the Sooners into 23 percent shooting. The Longhorns gave up only one conventional basket over the first 8:38. Davis had a field goal early in the half and that was the Sooners' only true bucket until Davis scored at the 11:22 mark to make it 11-6. In between, Andrew Fitzgerald was awarded two points on basket interference.
The Sooners made a mild run in the second half, chipping a 43-20 halftime lead down to 53-39 with an 8-0 spurt that included Davis' 3-pointer and three free throws by Steven Pledger after J'Covan Brown fouled him behind the arc. A few minutes later, Calvin Newell's two foul shots got Oklahoma to 65-52.
But Thompson answered with a huge dunk off a nifty feed from Brown, and Gary Johnson converted a three-point play to quickly build the lead to 70-52.
Fitzgerald had 10 points for Oklahoma.