KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Keshon Gilbert had 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and No. 7 Iowa State used a big second-half run to beat No. 14 Baylor 76-62 on Friday night in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
Curtis Jones added 13 points and Tamin Lipsey and Hason Ward had 10 apiece for the Cyclones (26-7), who advanced to play top-ranked Houston on Saturday night for their fifth championship in the last 10 completed tournaments.
The Cougars rolled to an 82-59 victory over No. 25 Texas Tech in the first semifinal.
Iowa State went on a 17-3 run to start the second half and led by as many as 22 points before keeping the Bears at distance the rest of the way. It was the second straight year that the Cyclones knocked Baylor out of a tournament it has never won.
Jalen Bridges had 20 points and 12 rebounds while Yves Missi had 14 points and 11 boards for the Bears (23-10), who had won seven of their last 10 against the Cyclones. Big 12 Freshman of the Year Ja'Kobe Walter had just three points on 1-for-8 shooting.
Iowa State tends to take over T-Mobile Center during the Big 12 Tournament, turning it into a slightly newer, slightly glitzier version of Hilton Coliseum, and that was the case again for its semifinal against Baylor.
From the moment Milan Momcilovic drilled an opening 3-pointer, those thousands of red-clad fans rarely sat down.
The Cyclones proceeded to dominate most of the opening half, at one point going on a 13-2 run to build a comfortable lead, though Bridges did everything he could to keep Baylor in the game. He hit a trio of 3s and had 12 points at halftime, otherwise the Bears would have faced an even steeper climb than the 35-27 hole staring them down at the break.
Iowa State never gave them a chance, though.
Their brilliant ball movement kept producing easy layups. Momcilovic, Gilbert and Jones buried 3-pointers. And in a tournament filled with blowouts, the Cyclones used their big run out of the locker room to deliver yet another semifinal knockout.
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Baylor likely clinched a No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament with its trip to the Big 12 tourney semifinals.
Iowa State will try to keep its perfect record intact as the No. 2 seed in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones are 5-0 with the seed, including their three wins on the way to the 2005 championship.
