KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Kansas State is one win away from getting one last shot at its archrival.
Both the Wildcats and No. 1 Kansas advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday, keeping alive hopes for a Sunflower State showdown for the conference title.
M in Friday’s semifinals while No. 9 Kansas State takes on No. 21 Baylor.
An all-Kansas affair in the title game would be the first in the history of the tournament and give the Wildcats an opportunity to make up for a two-game sweep at the hands of the hated Jayhawks.
It would also help attendance – the other two semifinalists are more than 600 miles from Kansas City.
In the other quarterfinals on Thursday, Donald Sloan scored 23 points and Khris Middleton had 17 to lead the Aggies past Nebraska 70-64, and Baylor got 25 points from Epke Udoh in an 86-67 win over Texas.
Second-seeded Kansas State romped past Oklahoma State 83-64 behind Jacob Pullen’s 19 points.
practice the last three days,” said coach Frank Martin, whose Wildcats had ended the regular season with a disappointing upset loss to Iowa State. “And we got back to some of the things that make us a good basketball team.”
Baylor’s LaceDarius Dunn got in quick foul trouble and had only two points in the first half, but scored 17 in the second half as the Bears beat Texas for the third time this year. Tweety Carter had 20 points for Baylor.
“I wanted to come out and just provide for my team,” he said. “Score the ball, rebounding, whatever it takes to get the victory. So I think I did a great job of it.”
Damion James had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Texas but fouled out in the final minutes. Going back to last year, it was the fourth straight victory for Baylor over the team that used to dominate them.
“I think it sums up our whole season in the last couple of months,” said Texas coach Rick Barnes. “This game pretty much sums up the inconsistencies we’ve had all year.”
Kansas, playing for the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA field to be announced Sunday night, led Texas Tech by only two points at halftime. But Cole Aldrich had 12 points and 18 rebounds and senior guard Sherron Collins put in 19 points, one of four Jayhawks in double figures.
It was also the 2,000th victory in Kansas’ storied program. They’re just the third school to reach that number.
“It means a lot to us right now,” Collins said. “We don’t want to put too much focus on it. But it means a lot to people who support us and people who played before us.”
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