Texas & Big 12 Capsules: Dunn, Udoh lead No. 21 Baylor past Texas 86-67

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nebraska missed its chance to make some history at the Big 12 tournament.

Donald Sloan scored 23 points, Bryan Davis had a key three-point play at the 1:01 mark and No. 23 Texas A&M stopped the upset-minded Cornhuskers 70-64 in a close and cleanly contested quarterfinal Thursday.

Nebraska, trailing all game while trying to become the first No. 12 seed to win two Big 12 games, got close in the final minutes but Sloan and Khris Middleton hit big shots to keep the Huskers at bay.

"We really executed against the zone late," Aggies coach Mark Turgeon said. "Wish our defense would have been a little bit better down the stretch."

After Nebraska cut the lead to 62-58 with 1:35 left on Sek Henry’s 3-pointer, Davis managed to get behind the Nebraska defense for a layup, was fouled by Jorge Brian Diaz and made the free throw.

In Friday’s semifinals, the Aggies (23-8) get a rematch with No. 1 Kansas, which beat them last month 59-54.

"I think our guys are ready," Sloan said. "We’re prepared."

Nebraska (15-18), which won only two of 16 regular-season conference games but beat No. 5 seed Missouri in the first round, will sit out the NCAA tournament for the 12th straight season.

But coach Doc Sadler pointed to his team’s hard-fought games in the tournament as evidence of a spirit and heart that belies its record.

"I hear stories that athletics is supposed to teach you lifelong lessons. If that’s the case, then these guys are going to be very, very successful people because their character is unbelievable."

Ryan Anderson had 16 points for the Huskers, Diaz 14 and Sek 13.

Middleton had 17 for the fourth-seeded Aggies, including two key free throws with 28 seconds to go after Brandon Richardson’s two free throws had cut the lead to 66-62.

About midway through the second half, Sloan’s free throw gave the Aggies a seemingly comfortable 49-36 advantage. But Lance Jeter scored four quick points and the Huskers went on an 11-0 run, slicing the lead to 49-47 when Anderson made a 3-pointer at the 9:02 mark.

After an A&M timeout, Sloan’s basket stopped the drought and a few minutes later, B.J. Holmes’ 3-pointer made it 54-49.

Sloan’s 3-pointer put the Aggies on top 57-53 after the Huskers, trailing by 13 in the second half, cut it to 54-51 on two straight baskets by Diaz, their 6-foot-11 freshman.

"I was in the flow of the game knowing we needed something big," Sloan said. "It feels good when you make it, but had I missed — totally different story."

Sadler agreed it was a clutch shot.

"He stepped up and made that play," he said. "You’ve got to give him credit. Was it big? It was huge. But he made the shot."

Anderson hit a basket for Nebraska, cutting the lead to 57-55. Then Middleton made a 3-pointer, Sloan rebounded Anderson’s missed 3-pointer and came back and dropped in a layup for a 62-55 advantage.

"Sloan hit a big 3, just a huge 3," Turgeon said. "And Khris hit a big 3 also. We really executed against the zone (defense) late."

The Aggies, headed for a school-record fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance, scored the game’s first eight points and never trailed even though the Huskers shot 50 percent.

Sloan, with 12 points in the first half, made a 3-pointer for an 8-0 lead which reached 27-15 before A&M settled for a 37-28 halftime advantage on Sloan’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Richardson who had 19 points in the victory over Missouri, played just 9 minutes in the first half and did not even take a shot. He got his first points on a 3-pointer early in the second half and finished with four points.

-- Doug Tucker

No. 1 KU tops Texas Tech 80-68 to reach 2,000 wins

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Cole Aldrich had 12 points and 18 rebounds, and No. 1 Kansas become the third team to reach 2,000 wins by pulling out an 80-68 victory over scrappy Texas Tech on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

Kansas (30-2) was upset by Baylor in last year’s Big 12 tournament and seemed headed for another with an uneven start. The Jayhawks slogged through a sloppy first half and had to withstand a Texas Tech rally in the second before pulling away to join Kentucky and North Carolina in the 2,000-win club.

Kansas moves on to face the Texas A&M-Nebraska winner in Friday’s semifinals.

Texas Tech (17-15) all but secured an NIT berth by beating Colorado in the opener, but its only chance at an NCAA berth was to win the Big 12 tournament.

John Roberson had 17 points and eight assists, and Darko Cohadarevic added 14 points to keep Texas Tech within reach until the closing minutes.

Sherron Collins had 19 points and six assists despite foul trouble and Xavier Henry added 13 points for Kansas, which reached 30 wins for the third time in four years, ninth overall.

Ranked as high as No. 19 early in the season, Texas Tech staggered down the stretch of season behind a struggling defense. The Red Raiders had a few defensive lapses early against Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 before tightening up for a decisive win.

The intensity continued early against Kansas.

The Jayhawks manhandled Texas Tech inside in the first meeting in January — 14 more points in the paint, 11 more rebounds — and the Red Raiders were determined not to let it happen again, swarming Kansas’ post players on every touch.

Kansas was out of sorts even without Tech’s pressure.

The Jayhawks made careless passes, took poor shots and had one blunder after another in the first half to let Texas Tech stay within two. Kansas went up 12 early in the second half and tried to pull away, but Texas Tech wouldn’t back down.

The Red Raiders cut the lead to 55-50 on Mike Singletary’s three-point play with 11½ minutes left and kept answering Kansas’ attempts to stretch the lead. Texas Tech made it 65-61 on Cohadarevic’s sweeping hook shot and were within two when Roberson scored on a tough reverse to set up a potential three-point play.

He missed and Kansas took over.

Collins hit a 3-pointer, Kansas got a stop and Henry added another 3, putting Kansas up 71-63 with five minutes left. Texas Tech didn’t have another run after that and will likely head to the NIT while Kansas hopes to sew up the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament.

--John Marshall

Fredette’s 45 points leads No. 14 BYU past TCU

LAS VEGAS — Jimmer Fredette's night wasn't perfect, even though he did score 45 points and Brigham Young broke the school's 60-year-old mark for wins in a season.

After all, the junior point guard missed one of his two dozen free throws.

"I'm still upset about that one, to be honest with you," Fredette said with a smirk after leading the 14th-ranked Cougars past TCU 95-85 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament Thursday night.

"I'll think about it tonight and try to correct that. Hopefully, I'll make all of them next time."

The Cougars (29-4) will face the UNLV-Utah winner in the semifinals Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Fredette, a junior from Glen Falls, N.Y., set tournament records with his 45 points and 23-of-24 performance from the line.

Utah's Lou Kelly held the tournament record with a 35-point performance against New Mexico in 2002, but it was Fredette's demolition of Ricky Morgan's old marks of 18 foul conversions in 19 attempts for UNLV against Wyoming in 2005 that was most impressive.

Teammate Jackson Emery said he'd never witnessed such an exhibition from the stripe, either in practice or competition.

"I've seen Shaq get fouled a lot, but he hasn't made as many as Jimmer has," Emery said. "It's great. Jimmer is a terrific free throw shooter. It's almost automatic when you foul him."

The Cougars needed every bit of Fredette's special night because TCU played much better than it had in losing at home to BYU by 30 points five nights earlier. The seventh-seeded Horned Frogs (13-19) led 40-39 at halftime but couldn't stop Fredette, who scored 30 of his points after the break.

"Our kids competed," said TCU coach Jim Christian. "Obviously, in the second half Jimmer took over the game. He's a great player. It's difficult because we tried everything we could do. You trap him, the other guys, they hit so many timely shots as a team. It's hard to take out one guy, especially when he can pass the ball and the other guys can play."

Fredette shrugged off his record-breaking performance and his spectacular second half as "just being aggressive."

"I got to the foul line a lot, which was good," he said. "I knew I could make it from there."

About the only place he couldn't score from was beyond the arc, where he went 2 for 10. However, one of his 3s that did fall came after his four straight swishes from the stripe and put the Cougars ahead 59-51.

Just when it looked like BYU was finally going to cruise, TCU reserve Greg Hill replied with a three-point play followed by a four-point play, forcing a timeout with the Cougars clinging to a 59-58 lead with 12:26 remaining.

This time, the Cougars did break away — with Fredette leading the way, of course.

Double-teamed, Fredette dished out one of his six assists, finding an open Emery, who sank a 3-pointer that sparked a 12-2 run that gave BYU a 71-60 lead.

"They came out in their 1-3-1 zone," Emery said. "You have to be aggressive in that zone. When you get an open look, you have to drill it. Fortunately, Jimmer made a good pass. They tried to trap him. I was wide open in the corner."

Fredette, the league's leading scorer, capped the run with four more free throws, then added a bank shot and a fastbreak finger-roll to make it 75-63.

"He played a great game," TCU guard Keion Mitchem marveled. "We didn't have any answers."

Rather than trying to challenge his career high of 49 points, which he scored against Arizona on Dec. 28, Fredette dribbled out the final 20 seconds at halfcourt, giving a handshake and chest bump to Ronnie Moss, who led TCU with 22 points, just before the buzzer sounded.

BYU's previous record of 28 wins came in 1950-51.

Cougars starting guard Tyler Haws scored eight points but was limited to 15 minutes of playing time after getting struck in the face and poked in the eye on one play, resulting in a bloody nose and blurred vision.

"We got the bleeding in the nose stopped," Rose said. "Hopefully he'll be OK and ready to go tomorrow. We'll just have to see how he progresses."

-- Arnie Stapleton

No. 25 UTEP avoids upset bug at C-USA tourney

TULSA, Okla. — No. 25 UTEP doesn’t just have to rely on Randy Culpepper and Derrick Caracter to keep on winning.

Coach Tony Barbee unleashed his team’s depth full-force against UCF, and it might just pay off as the Miners move on to the Conference USA tournament semifinals.

Jeremy Williams scored 17 points, Culpepper added 10 and UTEP beat Central Florida 76-54 for its 15th straight win Thursday night, building a big enough lead that the team’s top two scorers weren’t needed in the second half.

"Through a lot of adversity this year, our depth has been our biggest ally," Barbee said. "Foul trouble, guys not playing well, some injuries, guys missing some games and our depth has been our biggest ally."

Barbee doesn’t think the latest bit of adversity for the top-seeded Miners (25-5) is entirely fair, but his players did their best to limit the effects of a quick turnaround before facing fifth-seeded Tulsa 16 hours later in front of what will be an unfriendly crowd.

"No other tournament in the country is doing that," Barbee said. "But it is what it is. You’ve got to live with it."

As the tournament host, Tulsa was able to pick its time slot. That bumped UTEP into the late game, and the best thing the Miners could do was break it open early.

UTEP used aggressive full-court traps to force ninth-seeded UCF into 12 first-half turnovers, then turned those takeaways into 15 points to build a 28-point lead by halftime. The Miners, who moved into the Top 25 two weeks ago for the first time since 1992, are trying to build on their first outright conference title since 1987.

"We just wanted to get this game over with as quick as possible, so everybody went out and played hard and it was a team effort," Williams said. "Everybody did a good job tonight."

On a day when the each of the conference’s other higher-seeded teams lost, UTEP led wire-to-wire for the ninth time this season. The Miners blitzed UCF in the backcourt and raced out to a 15-3 lead behind seven early points from Williams.

After A.J. Rompza’s pass sailed out of bounds for his team’s seventh turnover in the first 10 minutes, Golden Knights coach Kirk Speraw screamed to his panicking players, "Hey! Slow down!" It didn’t work with the Miners forcing the pace.

Isaac Sosa zipped a crosscourt pass out of bounds while trying to break the press on UCF’s next possession as the Knights turned it over on three of their next four trips.

"I think early in the game we were turning it over 50 percent of our possessions," Speraw said. "That was something that we wanted to calm ourselves down a little bit more and play with a little bit more poise.

"But give them credit. They got us sped up and got us to turn it over."

Culpepper’s fast-break layup off the final turnover in that stretch made it 30-14 with 7:20 left in the first half. UTEP also scored the final nine points of the first half to stretch its lead to 48-20.

The Miners were up by 31 when Barbee pulled Culpepper, his leading scorer, and let him sit out for the final 16 minutes. Derrick Caracter, the Louisville transfer who leads the team in rebounding and ranks second in scoring, got the whole second half off.

"In this league, any team can beat any other team on any given night if you’re not ready to play," Barbee said. "I don’t know what happened in those other games. I don’t know if those other teams just played better."

Keith Clanton had 12 points and Isaac Sosa scored 10 to lead UCF, which lost the teams’ only regular-season meeting by 37 points on its home floor. The Golden Knights never got closer than 19 in the second half, pulling within 68-49 when Taylor Young finished an 18-4 run with a 3.

"Their defensive pressure is very good. We didn’t handle it very well," Speraw said. "They’re a very good team. They’re one of the better teams in the country."

Speraw said reserve P.J. Gaynor was hospitalized after a midair collision with Williams with 1:07 remaining in the first half. He rolled over twice on the baseline before a trainer came out to attend to him. Speraw said after the game that he didn’t have any information about Gaynor’s injury except that he had been hospitalized.

The rest for the Miners’ starters could come in handy against Tulsa, the conference’s preseason favorite that faded down the stretch to finish in fifth. Caracter will go head-to-head against 7-footer Jerome Jordan, who was chosen to the league’s all-defensive team.

UTEP swept the season series, winning 73-59 at home and 78-70 at Tulsa’s campus arena.

"We’ve had some difficult matchups with them, including the ones this year. They weren’t easy games," Barbee said. "A great defensive team. (Coach) Doug (Wojcik) does a great job. I expect it to be another fantastic game."

-- Jeff Latzke

Houston upsets Memphis 66-65 on last-second shot

TULSA, Okla. — Aubrey Coleman may have popped Memphis’ bubble when it comes to an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.

Coleman scored Houston’s final two baskets, including a short leaner with 5 seconds left after he split a double-team, and the Cougars upset Memphis 66-65 in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament.

Coleman hit a contested pull-up jumper with 40 seconds left to give Houston a 64-63 lead. The Tigers (23-9) regained the advantage on a drive by Willie Kemp with 15.7 seconds to go. It was the fifth driving basket by Kemp, who led Memphis with 15 points, in the final 5:22.

"It was good for us to let him have the easy basket with 15 seconds left because it gave us plenty of time for the last shot," Houston coach Tom Penders joked. "Coleman has been one of the top four or five players in the country all year, and he came through with the big shot at the end."

Coleman, the nation’s leading scorer at 26.1 points per game, finished with a team-high 21 points and had eight rebounds and three steals. Kelvin Lewis had 13 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 2:06 left that gave Houston a 62-61 lead. Lewis’ bucket came after Kemp put Memphis ahead 61-59, the first Tiger lead since 11-8.

Houston (17-15) will play Southern Mississippi in the semifinals Friday. Memphis (23-9) will await the verdict of the NCAA selection committee. The Tigers had won the past four Conference USA tournaments, all in Memphis.

It was the second victory in three tries for Houston over Memphis this season, as both teams had won comfortably at home. Penders said a variety of illnesses and injuries had contributed to his team’s mediocre regular season.

"People shouldn’t be surprised that we won," he said. "This team can beat anyone. There is no question in my mind. We have just had a lot of ups and downs and a lot of injuries, a lot of illnesses."

Houston led 36-27 at halftime and kept a slim advantage through most of the second half, mainly because of superior rebounding. The Cougars won the board battle 46-33 and had 22 offensive rebounds to six for Memphis. That resulted in Houston taking 68 field goals to 49 for the Tigers. Houston won despite shooting 35.3 percent compared to 46.9 for Memphis.

"They had 22 offensive rebounds and 19 more shots than us, that’s hard to overcome," Memphis coach Josh Pastner said. "Give Houston credit, they had a great first half and deserved to win. Coleman made some tough shots, including two at the end. It was good defense but better offense."

"Our kids shot 35 percent and won," Penders said. "That means you are doing a lot of other things really well."

Maurice McNeil added 10 points and nine rebounds for Houston.

Will Coleman had 14 points and eight rebounds for Memphis and all-conference player Elliot Williams had 10 points but made just one of nine field goals. He was guarded mostly by Lewis.

"That’s three times we’ve played them, and Lewis has held him to 10 points or less each time," Penders said.

Williams averages 18.5 points.

"I know he likes to go hard to his left," Lewis said. "I just try to make him take some tough shots. I think I did a great job on defense to help my team win."

Stephen F. Austin defeats Texas A&M-CC, 60-53

Texas Southern tops Prairie View A&M 66-49 in SWAC

BOSSIER CITY, La. — DeAndre Hall scored 19 points and Texas Southern defeated Prairie View A&M 66-49 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

The fifth-seeded Tigers (16-15) advance to Friday’s semifinals against eighth-seeded Grambling State (7-20), which defeated top-seeded Jackson State on Wednesday.

With Thursday’s victory, Texas Southern avenged the fourth-seeded Panthers’ regular-season sweep. The Tigers led 30-23 at halftime and the margin climbed to 20 points midway through the second half. Hall added nine rebounds and four steals for Texas Southern while David Burrell and Junior Treasure chipped in 11 points apiece.

Michael Griffin scored 11 points and Tim Meadows had 10 to lead Prairie View A&M (16-14). Only two Panthers went to the free throw line, shooting 2-for-5. Five Tigers combined to make 15 of 24 foul shots.

Man acquitted in death of Rice basketball player

BRYAN — A former Marine has been acquitted in the stabbing death of a Rice University basketball player during a 2007 fight outside a Texas bar.

Ronald Andrew Johnson was found not guilty Wednesday in Jonathan Bailey’s death and of the aggravated assault of Bailey’s twin brother, Janson.

Defense attorneys said Johnson stabbed the brothers to save his brother, who was being beaten by the twins outside a bar in College Station.

Prosecutors argued that it was a typical bar fight and that Johnson escalated it by pulling out a knife.

Jonathan Bailey transferred from Texas State and was a walk-on sophomore basketball player for Rice, located in Houston. In his first season of eligibility with the Owls, he played 10 minutes over four games, scoring four points.

State Women

No. 15 Texas beats Mizzou 64-59 in Big 12 tourney

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri endured its share of heartbreak in Cindy Stein's final season, and it was no different in her final game as coach.

No. 15 Texas overcame sloppiness and a career shooting day by Amanda Hanneman to hold off Missouri 64-59 in the first round of the Big 12 women's tournament Thursday.

Fifth-seeded Texas (23-7) trailed 29-28 at the half and couldn't put away the 12th-seeded Tigers (12-18) until the final minute. The Longhorns advanced to a quarterfinal game Friday against fourth-seeded Texas A&M.

"It was a struggle," Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said. "They kept fighting, and I would expect nothing less of a Cindy Stein team. They've lost a lot of tough, close games."

The loss was Mizzou's sixth by five points or less against a Big 12 opponent — a statistic that surely has worn on Stein's players.

"Sometimes that's life and life isn't always fair, but you've got to keep gettin' up and getting dressed every day and try and have a positive spirit because negativity is for losers," said Stein, who announced her resignation March 1 and finished 185-177 in 12 years at Mizzou.

Brittainey Raven scored 11 points to lead Texas, which has won 12 straight against the Tigers and 19 of the last 20.

Ashley Gayle blocked five shots to set the Texas single-season record of 99. Earnesia Williams, Kathleen Nash and Yvonne Anderson added nine points apiece for the Longhorns, who beat the Tigers 60-41 in Austin, Texas last week.

"We knew they were going to play hard," Nash said. "I would say we didn't come in here ready enough, and we were happy to get out of here with a win."

Hanneman kept the Tigers in the game, making a career-high seven 3-pointers and finishing with a game-high 21 points. Jessra Johnson had 11 points.

"When you're a shooter like me, when the first one goes down, it's always a good thing," Hanneman said. "I just kept telling myself, 'You're going to make 'em today.' "

Missouri shot just 32 percent, but Hanneman's long-distance shooting and Texas' 19 turnovers kept it close. The Longhorns were poised to pull away throughout the second half, but the Tigers wouldn't let them.

Hanneman twice hit 3-pointers to cut five-point leads to two points. Christine Flores made a left-handed scoop shot and converted a baseline pass from Johnson into a backdoor layup to get Mizzou within 56-54 with 5:04 left.

Missouri was within 59-56 after Shakara Jones' lay-in, but Williams' jumper and Anderson's free throws made it a seven-point game with 2:43 left.

The Tigers weren't done, though. Jones' basket and Johnson's free throw trimmed Texas' lead to 63-59 in the final minute, and Mizzou had a chance to make it a one-possession game. But Mizzou couldn't get a shot off against Texas' tight defense before Johnson was called for traveling with 12 seconds left.

As she did before the game, Goestenkors gave Stein a hug at midcourt after the final buzzer.

"I feel for Cindy, I really do," Goestenkors said. "She's a good friend and a great coach, and I know there are good things out there for her. I hated that this was her last game."

Stein said she didn't know what her next career move would be. She said it could be coaching or possibly an administrative position. She did have some immediate plans, though.

"I'm going to go grab a beer," she said.

Karr, Kincaid pace Kansas St. over Texas Tech 59-51

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Wildcats pounced early and Texas Tech never quite recovered.

Kansas State jumped to an 11-2 lead behind three 3-pointers from three different players Thursday and held off the Lady Raiders 59-51 in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament.

Taelor Karr scored 16 points and Kari Kincaid added 14 to lead Kansas State, which will play undefeated and No. 3 Nebraska in the quarterfinals Friday.

With only seven players suited up — three others dressed in sweats because of injuries — K-State took its time on offense and had a knack for making key plays at the right time.

After a time-out, Texas Tech’s Kierra Mallard stole the inbounds pass and converted a layup to cut the lead to 47-45.But with 1:12 left, Karr buried a deep 3-pointer that gave K-State a 50-45 lead. Then, Kincaid stole a pass and Ashley Sweat converted a layup as the shot clock expired for 52-45 lead.

"I remember looking up and they had cut it to two," Kincaid said. "I think we all just said enough’s enough. We weren’t going to let them come and take our lead from us."

Ashlee Roberson led Texas Tech with 13 points while Mallard added 11. Jordan Barncastle, the Texas Tech player whose nose was broken by Baylor star Brittney Griner last week, played 17 minutes but didn’t score.

"Obviously she didn’t look herself today, especially defensively," Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry said.

Texas Tech shot 60 percent after halftime and Mallard scored nine of her 11 points in the second half. But even with the offense picking up in the second half, the Lady Raiders could never grab the lead.

"It’s disappointing," Curry said. "I thought that there quick start gave them a lot of confidence. We weren’t able to recover from that."

After that initial burst, the Wildcats then went nearly five minutes without a field goal, but Tech couldn’t capitalize. Bouncing shots off the rim and carelessly handling the ball, the Lady Raiders shot 31 percent and committed eight turnovers before halftime — turnovers the Wildcats cashed in for 12 points.

Sweat, K-State’s leading scorer at 16.7 points per game, missed all seven of her first-half attempts and scored just five points. But the timely 3-pointers helped and so did Jalana Childs, who scored nine of her 11 points before halftime.

Karr, Kincaid and Brittany Chambers, who scored nine points, also combined for nine of K-State’s last 12 points.

"When you can force Ashley Sweat to go 1-10," Curry said, "you think you have a chance to win."

Kansas State coach Deb Patterson said she liked her team’s "gritty mentality." Awaiting the Wildcats now 29-0 Nebraska, the only undefeated team besides Connecticut in Division I basketball.

Nebraska defeated K-State twice during the regular season, most recently an 82-72 win on March 6.

"No one in the world thinks we can win, except for us," Kincaid said. "We believe in ourselves. We would shock the world if we beat undefeated Nebraska."

Reserve scores career-high 17, Baylor holds off CU

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Usually the last player on the bench, Whitney Zachariason suddenly became 16th-ranked Baylor’s first option in a tougher-than-expected Big 12 tournament opener.

The junior forward scored a career-high 17 points as the Bears shook off 11th-seeded Colorado for a 72-65 victory Thursday night. The sixth-seeded Bears advanced to a quarterfinal Friday night against 12th-ranked Oklahoma — a game that will mark the return of suspended freshman star Brittney Griner.

With Griner out and Colorado playing a 2-3 zone defense, the Bears turned to the little-used Zachariason, who responded with five 3-pointers.

"You go with your gut, and Whitney, that’s what she does best," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "I couldn’t be happier for a young lady who has sat the bench, has been the last one to go in ball games the majority of the year. She never, ever pouts, never thinks about herself. She thinks about the team."

Mulkey called on Zachariason about three minutes into the game, after Baylor had struggled with its shooting. She had shown in practice that she’s one of the team’s best shooters but hadn’t gotten a chance to show it in a game until Thursday. She came in averaging five minutes and 1.4 points, and she had a total of three 3-pointers in her 18 games.

"If I go in a game, I’m probably going to go in to shoot," she said. "I think everybody knew we had to step up because we had a few people out."

The 11th-seeded Buffaloes, who lost 13 of 16 conference games, threatened to avenge a 34-point regular-season loss before Baylor put them away. Jordan Madden hit a deep 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to give the Bears (23-8) a six-point lead.

"She might miss four or five that she takes, and then she’ll hit a big shot for ya," Mulkey said of Madden.

Brittany Spears had 24 points and Alyssa Fressle added 16 for Colorado (13-17), which was held without a field goal for the last 6:25 and lost its 23rd straight against a ranked team.

The Buffs finished with losses in 12 of their last 13 games.

Griner wore a Baylor sweatsuit and sat behind the bench, serving the second game of a two-game suspension for punching and breaking the nose of Texas Tech’s Jordan Barncastle last week. The Bears also were without second-leading scorer Melissa Jones, who has battled injury the second half of the season.

Baylor won the regular-season meeting with Colorado 76-42 in Waco, Texas. Griner had 24 points, 10 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in that game.

Baylor lost 70-54 to Texas without Griner and Jones on Sunday, and looked headed for another defeat against the Buffaloes. Colorado led by as many as eight points in the second half and was up 62-58 when Chucky Jeffery scored with 6:25 left.

The Buffs didn’t make another field goal against the nation’s No. 2 team field-goal defense. Baylor turned up its pressure in the second half, when it forced 12 of the Buffs’ 18 turnovers.

"The press changed the whole game, I guess," Spears said.

Baylor didn’t have the game put away until Madden’s big 3-pointer in the final minute.

"As far as the team, I know they’re disappointed," Colorado coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said. "But they gave their heart. It’s been a tough year, and we’re going to move forward."

-- Eric Olson

Texas Southern defeats Grambling St. 63-57 in SWAC

BOSSIER CITY, La. — Gabrielle Rosigi scored 20 points as Texas Southern defeated Grambling State 63-57 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament.

The fifth-seeded Lady Tigers (13-17) will play top-seeded Southern University (21-8) in Friday’s semifinals. The teams split the regular-season series.

Trikeyia East and Nadosha Strickland each added 11 points for Texas Southern while Jasmine Cannon chipped in 10.

Secrett Anderson had 11 points and was the only double-figure scorer for Grambling State (13-15).

Texas Southern controlled the game early, leading 35-25 at the half and by as many as 16 points. The final margin was the closest Grambling State got in the second half.

Punched Texas Tech player cleared to play

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jordan Barncastle, the Texas Tech player punched during a home loss to Baylor last week, has been cleared to play.

Lady Raiders spokeswoman Tammi Hoffman said Thursday that Barncastle started in the Big 12 tournament game against Kansas State. Baylor freshman standout Brittney Griner punched Barncastle late in the March 3 game and the Texas Tech player suffered a nasal fracture.

Griner was suspended for the Lady Bears’ final game of the season — a 70-54 home loss to Texas — and for the first game in the tournament. The sixth-seeded Lady Bears play Colorado on Thursday evening.

Big 12 Men

No. 9 Wildcats rout Oklahoma State 83-64

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State had lost two tough games to Oklahoma State the past two years, the worst one coming at its home gym earlier this season.

Given the chance at a rematch, the Wildcats made it no contest.

Riding Jamar Samuels’ huge first half and career night, No. 9 Kansas State overwhelmed Oklahoma State early and never let up on the way to an 83-64 rout Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.

"We had (the loss) on our mind," Samuels said. "It was somewhat of a revenge game."

Kansas State (25-6) had been waiting to play Oklahoma State again since losing at home in January. The Wildcats opened this game with a big run and closed the first half with an even bigger one, leaving no doubt while tying a school single-season record for wins.

Samuels provided the early lift, scoring 21 of his career-high 27 points in the first half, and added 10 rebounds. Denis Clemente was steady at the point, finishing with 12 points and 10 assists. Jacob Pullen rebounded from an off night the previous game against Oklahoma State to score 19 points, and Kansas State had a 43-27 advantage in rebounds.

That two-game losing streak to end the season and their three-game losing streak in the Big 12 tournament? Clearly behind the Wildcats. They’re already looking toward Friday’s semifinal against No. 21 Baylor, which held off Texas in another quarterfinal.

"That’s one down. We can’t get overly excited, because right away we have another hard game tomorrow night," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "I’m happy because for the first time in my career I get to use a second suit at the Big 12 tournament."

Oklahoma State (22-10) shot poorly, defended even worse and was plagued by early foul trouble to follow up an impressive win over rival Oklahoma with a clunker.

The Cowboys will still likely get into the NCAA tournament, but their seeding is sure to drop. Big 12 player of the year James Anderson had 27 points on 8-of-21 shooting to lead Oklahoma State after scoring 30 the previous game against K-State.

"A bad combination for us: They played extremely well and we didn’t play particularly well," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said. "It was just one of those nights."

One that Kansas State had been hoping for.

The Wildcats were riding an emotional high into the first meeting on Jan. 23 after knocking Texas from the top spot in the polls earlier that week. Oklahoma State put a quick end to the euphoria, beating Kansas State 73-69 in the Little Apple for its 12th win in 14 games against the Wildcats since the inception of the Big 12.

The Cowboys won that game by packing into a zone and daring K-State’s guards to shoot over them. Clemente and Pullen went a combined 8 of 29, including 6 for 21 from 3-point range, and Oklahoma State ended the Wildcats’ Bramlage Coliseum-record 14-game winning streak.

Charged up by what felt like a home crowd at the Sprint Center, the Wildcats got off to a good start when the Cowboys opened in man-to-man and kept rolling when they switched to zone, working the ball around for open shots to outscore Oklahoma State 23-8 in the first 8 minutes.

Kansas State wasn’t bad on defense, either. Oklahoma State had seven turnovers and just six shot attempts in that span.

"We wanted to come out and be physical and do the things we did (before)," said Pullen, who was 2 for 15 from the floor in their first meeting. "It started on the defensive end."

The Cowboys tried to make a game of it. Behind two 3-pointers by Keiton Page and one from Anderson, Oklahoma State reeled off a 15-4 run to get within 27-23.

All that seemed to do was make the Wildcats angry.

Led by Samuels, Kansas State closed the half with a 24-3 run, scoring the final 16 points as Oklahoma State missed its final eight shots. Samuels matched his career high with 21 points and had nine rebounds — one more than Oklahoma State — by halftime, scoring on jumpers and flying putbacks, and adding his second 3-pointer just before the buzzer to put Kansas State up 51-26.

The Wildcats made sure Oklahoma State never stood a chance after that, pushing the lead to as much as 33 in the second half.

"Honestly, we just got out-toughed," Oklahoma State’s Matt Pilgrim said. "We were a bit sluggish, but that’s not an excuse. The numbers speak for themselves."

-- John Marshall

Future looks cloudy for Cyclones

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa State coach Greg McDermott will return for a fifth season, even though he has yet to post a winning record with the Cyclones.

Senior forward Marquis Gilstrap won’t be back, though, after the NCAA denied his appeal for another season. It’s also hard to imagine star Craig Brackins returning after thinking hard about jumping to the NBA a year ago before coming back.

Iowa State only won 15 games this season with Gilstrap and Brackins, who combined for more than 31 points and nearly 18 rebounds a game.

How are the Cyclones supposed to win without them?

That question will weigh heavily on the minds of Iowa State fans while they watch an NCAA tournament that once again won’t include the Cyclones.

Iowa State (15-17) likely closed out the 2009-10 season with an 82-75 loss to Texas in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament Wednesday night. Though the College Basketball Invitational tournament could extend an invitation to the Cyclones, McDermott said Wednesday that he wasn’t sure the CBI was the best idea for his banged-up team.

Many thought this would be the year the Cyclones broke through under McDermott, and even he said before the season that this was his most talented team yet.

McDermott also believed that, had the team he had in October stayed intact, the Cyclones would be talking about an NCAA bid by now.

Well, it didn’t — and they aren’t.

Injuries to valuable reserves Charles Boozer and Jamie Vanderbeken stripped the team’s depth by the time Big 12 play arrived. Starting guard Lucca Staiger bailed on the Cyclones just two games into conference play for a professional contract in his native Germany.

But that wasn’t all that plagued Iowa State.

Brackins and Gilstrap were invaluable assets, but the Big 12 is a guard-driven league. The Cyclones never had enough backcourt firepower to consistently hurt teams for focusing on the two frontcourt players.

Guards are also usually counted on to make big plays down the stretch — and Iowa State lost five games by five points or less in February alone.

Staiger’s loss hurt, but he was little more than a spot-up shooter. Starting point guard Diante Garrett was solid, averaging just over five assists per game, but he was more of a distributor than a game changer, and Scott Christopherson battled through mononucleosis late in the year, his first as a starter in the Big 12.

McDermott can take solace in the fact that Cyclones played hard down the stretch, even though the postseason was seemingly out of reach. Their 85-82 upset win at Kansas State last week was proof of that.

"We had some things that happen to us beyond our control, that didn’t go as it planned," McDermott said Wednesday night. "We found a way to fight through it and at least remain competitive. And nobody’s more disappointed than I am that we’ve lost so many close games throughout the course of the year. But we didn’t lose because we weren’t trying."

Iowa State has already signed two players to letters of intent, 6-foot-6 small forward Melvin Ejim and 6-foot-2 junior college guard DeMarcus Phillips, and more could be on the way. McDermott has been recruiting with the possibility of losing both Gilstrap and Brackins on his mind.

The Cyclones also have 6-foot-6 guard Antwon Oliver, who redshirted in 2009-10, and they expect Vanderbeken and Boozer to return healthy next fall.

Garrett, Christopherson and center Justin Hamilton all made strides this season. Chris Colvin struggled at times as a freshman, but he could develop into the kind of guard Iowa State simply must have to compete in the Big 12.

McDermott is signed through 2015, and athletic director Jamie Pollard said Monday that he hopes to work with McDermott for quite a long time. But it’s never a good sign when an athletic director feels compelled to give a public vote of confidence to a coach with five years left on his deal.

--Luke Meredith

Gilstrap done at Iowa State

DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa State coach Greg McDermott says senior Marquis Gilstrap won’t return next season after the school’s request for an extra year of eligibility was denied.

The 22-year-old Gilstrap began an injury-plagued career in junior college five years ago. Iowa State had appealed to the NCAA to give Gilstrap one more season under the medical hardship rule.

McDermott announced the NCAA’s ruling shortly after the Cyclones lost to Texas 82-75 in the Big 12 tournament Wednesday night.

Gilstrap was the only Big 12 player to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds in conference games. He scored 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the loss to the Longhorns.

Big 12 Women

Riley, No. 20 Cowgirls hold off Kansas 76-69

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Oklahoma State coach Kurt Budke sure doesn’t seem to be worried about Andrea Riley becoming overconfident.

His star guard scored 37 points to lead the No. 20 Cowgirls to an a 76-69 victory Thursday in the first round of the Big 12 tournament, prompting Budke to compare Riley to Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant.

"Her field goal percentage goes up the last three minutes in the game," Budke said. "She’s a lot like Kobe. Kobe just goes out and wins games. That’s Andrea Riley."

Her 37 points broke the previous tournament record set by former Oklahoma star Courtney Paris in 2006. Riley also tied Paris’ Big 12 scoring record of 2,729 points while playing in her school-record 129th game, and can break the mark in Friday’s quarterfinal against Iowa State.

"I know my team always has confidence in me," said Riley, who had 20 points by halftime and scored Oklahoma State’s final seven of the game. "And I always don’t want to let them down."

Carolyn Davis made a contested layup with 12:22 left that capped an 8-0 spurt and gave the Jayhawks a 49-47 lead, their first since early in the first half. Oklahoma State (22-9) quickly responded by scoring the next seven points and never trailed again.

Davis had 31 points for Kansas (15-15), which lost its final six games.

"I knew that every time I got the ball, I had to score or try to hit a teammate to score," said Davis, who went point-for-point with Riley for most of the game.

The Jayhawks managed to trim a double-figure lead to one possession in the closing minutes, but never could come all the way back. Marisha Brown’s three-point play off a miss cut Oklahoma State’s lead to 69-66, and Nicollette Smith buried a 3 with 56 seconds left to make it 72-69.

Toni Young finished with 16 points and Tegan Cunningham had 14 for the Cowgirls.

"We knew they were going to step up," Cunningham said. "I think we just wanted it more. We’ve been down in situations before. We know how to handle ourselves."

After missing Kansas’ last game because of a concussion sustained in practice, Davis checked in with 17:46 left in the first half and quickly rattled off six straight points. It was a much-needed outburst for a team that hadn’t scored more than 54 points in its last five games.

Riley wasn’t exactly sitting around, either.

Just about the only difference between them was that Riley scored from all over the court while Davis did most of her damage inside. Riley could have scored more, too, but she tossed up two air balls and missed two layups. She finished the first half 5 of 18 from the field, while Davis scored 14 first-half points and made all five of her field goal attempts.

"I’m not even sure what a bad shot is for her," Budke said of Riley.

Riley and Cunningham came into the game averaging a combined 41.9 points — tied for most in the nation by a tandem — and didn’t slow up. They scored 11 of the Cowgirls’ first 13 points, along with their final nine before halftime. Cunningham finished with 14 in the game.

Picked before the season to finish second in the Big 12 and once nationally ranked, injuries and inconsistent play plagued Kansas down the stretch.

The Jayhawks played their 10th straight game without leading scorer Danielle McCray or starting point guard Angel Goodrich, both of whom suffered season-ending ACL injuries. Goodrich injured her knee in a 70-68 loss against Oklahoma State on Jan. 12.

Shortly after Kansas cut Oklahoma State’s lead to one with 3:10 left in the first half, the Cowgirls responded with a 9-2 run before halftime. Riley crossed over and buried a deep 3-pointer as time expired, giving Oklahoma State a 42-34 halftime cushion.

"She hit that one," Kansas coach Bonnie Henrickson said, "and that was like a dagger going into the locker room."