Iowa State moves on to Big 12 Tournament semifinals after third win over Baylor
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Jaren Holmes’ free throw was short, careening off the front iron.
The missed front-end of a one-and-one should have been an opportunity for Baylor, which trailed by 10 and had a narrow path for a comeback with just 2:30 remaining. Holmes, though, was determined to use the moment to slam the door shut on the Bears.
Holmes cut through the lane, outhustled a pair of would-be Baylor rebounders to corral his own miss and put it back up for an easy layup. It put the Cyclones up 12 and on the path to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
The Cyclones bested No. 10 Baylor for the third time this season with an impressive 78-72 victory Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena.
It was the second win over the Bears (22-10) in the last week for the Cyclones (19-12), who won in Waco by 15 last Saturday.
Iowa State advances to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time since 2019, when the Cyclones went on to win their fourth Big 12 tournament title in six years. This time, they’ll face the winner of the Kansas-West Virginia quarterfinals.
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The Cyclones got a huge day from Gabe Kalscheur, who finished with 24 points. It helped them overcome a supernatural shooting performance from Baylor’s Jalen Bridges, who tallied 28 points.
Tamin Lipsey registered 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Cyclones, who had 21 offensive rebounds on the day as a team.
Baylor was able to exploit Iowa State’s defense early, scoring 41 first-half points, but the Bears shot just 35.7% from the floor in the second half as the Cyclones’ defense ramped up the pressure.
Friday’s game will tip at 6 p.m. and be broadcast by either ESPN or ESPN2.
Shooting duel
Bridges entered Thursday afternoon shooting 27.7% from 3-point range. In two games against Iowa State, the junior was a combined 1-for-6 from distance.
Thursday, he hardly missed.
Bridges made his first nine shots from the floor, including six from 3-point range, and finished 10-for-11 overall and 7-for-8 from beyond the arc for a career-high 28 points.
Iowa State countered, though, with a sharpshooter of its own.
Kalscheur went 9-for-15 from the floor and 6-for-11 from deep to finish with 24 as the two teams went shot-for-shot during long stretches of the highly competitive and well-played game.
Semifinals matchup
Iowa State's opponent will be either West Virginia or Kansas.
The Cyclones were swept in the regular season by the Mountaineers, while they split against the Jayhawks with both teams winning at home.
Kansas is playing its quarterfinal game without two-time national champion coach Bill Self, who was hospitalized with what the school called an illness.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins has become the winningest active coach in college basketball after Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim ended his 47-year run at his alma mater with his retirement Wednesday.
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa State upsets Baylor, reaches Big 12 semifinals
