Big 12 Tournament 2019: Quarterfinals Scores, Semifinals Bracket and Schedule
March 14, 2019
The 2019 Big 12 men's basketball tournament rolled on Thursday with the quarterfinal round at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
It marked the first appearance of the event for the conference's top six seeds, who all received a bye in the opening round. The Kansas State Wildcats and Texas Tech Red Raiders tied for the best record in Big 12 play during the regular season at 14-4.
Let's check out all of the important details for Thursday's action and Friday's semifinals, which will be updated through the conclusion of play in K.C. That's followed by a recap of each game.
Thursday's Quarterfinal Scores
Game 3: No. 5 Iowa State 83, No. 4 Baylor 66
Game 4: No. 1 Kansas State 70, No. 8 TCU 61
Game 5: No. 10 West Virginia 79, No. 2 Texas Tech 74
Game 6: No. 3 Kansas 65, No. 6 Texas 57
Friday's Semifinal Schedule
Game 7: No. 1 Kansas State vs. No. 5 Iowa State (7 p.m. ET)
Game 8: No. 10 West Virginia vs. No. 3 Kansas (9 p.m. ET)
To view an updated tournament bracket, visit the Big 12's official website.
Iowa State Cyclones 83, Baylor Bears 66
Iowa State used a late run to build a nine-point halftime lead after a back-and-forth contest for much of the opening half, and it never relinquished the advantage to punch its semifinal ticket.
Freshman guard Talen Horton-Tucker led the offensive charge for the Cyclones with five three-pointers en route to a game-high 21 points. Marial Shayok (18 points), Lindell Wigginton (16) and Tyrese Haliburton (13) also reached double figures in scoring for the well-balanced No. 5 seed.
Iowa State came into the Big 12 tournament needing to showcase some signs of life after dropping five of its last six games, including a three-game losing streak snapped by Thursday's win. It also exacted some revenge after losing both regular-season contests against the Bears.
Mario Kegler tallied 16 points and seven rebounds for Baylor, while Makai Mason added 14 points and five assists in the lopsided loss.
The Bears entered the game as a projected No. 9 seed for the NCAA tournament, per Bracket Matrix. The quarterfinal loss shouldn't be enough to drop them from the big dance. They could slide down to a No. 10 seed, though.
Meanwhile, Iowa State could still do wonders for its own March Madness seeding by winning the Big 12 title.
Kansas State Wildcats 70, TCU Horned Frogs 61
Kansas State overcame a sluggish start and held off a late rally from bubble team TCU to keep its chances of sweeping this season's Big 12 titles alive.
Xavier Sneed put up 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Wildcats remained without Dean Wade, who's likely to miss the tournament with a foot injury. KSU finished with 17 assists and forced 18 turnovers by the Horned Frogs.
Meanwhile, TCU's lack of depth was a key factor as it received just six points from its reserves. Desmond Bane paced the eighth-seeded squad with 16 points.
The Horned Frogs, who entered the day projected as a No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament according to ESPN's Joe Lunardi, will now have to sweat out Selection Sunday. They will be cheering for teams like the Buffalo Bulls from the MAC and other favorites from traditional one-bid conferences.
Kansas State advances to face Iowa State in the semis. They split two regular-season games against the Cyclones.
West Virginia Mountaineers 79, Texas Tech Red Raiders 74
Texas Tech won both regular-season matchups against West Virginia, but that didn't mean a thing in Thursday's tournament game.
Whether it was the desperation of March with the Mountaineers needing to win the Big 12 tournament to reach the Big Dance or the difficulty of beating a team three times in a season, the No. 10 seed made sure it was a different story in the quarterfinals.
West Virginia defeated the second-seeded Red Raiders 79-74 in a dramatic finish after controlling much of the contest. The Mountaineers pushed their lead to 16 with less than nine minutes remaining with an Emmitt Matthews Jr. three-pointer, but Texas Tech used a 22-5 run to seize the lead with less than two minutes left.
An and-1 from Jarrett Culver made it a one-point game with 23 seconds left after a back-and-forth sequence, but West Virginia used clutch free throws and timely defense to clinch the win.
As West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins said, his team isn't dead yet:
Matthews led the way for the Mountaineers with 28 points and eight rebounds, while Jordan McCabe added 13 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Culver's 26 points, 10 rebounds and five steals were not enough for the Red Raiders.
West Virginia will now play the Kansas Jayhawks. Huggins' team split two games with Kansas during the regular season, although the loss was by 25 points.
Kansas Jayhawks 65, Texas Longhorns 57
Texas is firmly on the bubble but was unable to bolster its resume with a marquee win against annual powerhouse Kansas.
The Jayhawks controlled play in the second half and kept the Longhorns in check with a strong defensive performance to clinch the 65-57 victory. The game was tied at the half, but Quentin Grimes’ layup gave the Jayhawks a double-digit lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Texas closed within four with a Kerwin Roach II three-pointer with two minutes and 44 seconds left, but it was unable to score the rest of the game against the Jayhawks defense.
The Longhorns shot just 35.7 percent from the field and 32 percent from deep, cutting off any realistic chance they had at coming from behind down the stretch. Dylan Osetkowski (18 points and seven rebounds) and Jase Febres (11 points) were the only Texas players to score in double figures.
Four of the Jayhawks’ five starters scored in double figures, including Devon Dotson (17 points, four rebounds and four assists) and Dedric Lawson (16 points, six rebounds and two steals).
Kansas will now face West Virginia in a rubber match in Friday’s semifinal showdown.
While it isn’t the clash with Texas Tech that many surely expected when the bracket was released, the Jayhawks did lose to the Mountaineers earlier this season and cannot afford to take them lightly. West Virginia needs to win this tournament to reach the Big Dance and will likely play with a sense of urgency after topping the Red Raiders.