(Kansas City, MO) – #7 Iowa State is headed to the Big XII Championship after defeating #14 Baylor 76-62. That win marked the fifth straight win over Baylor in Kansas City. The Cyclones will move on to the Big XII Championship game for the fifth time in the last ten years.
Leading on the night for Iowa State was Keshon Gilbert who shot 7-15 from the field while picking up 20 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Sitting right alongside Gilbert was Curtis Jones who put down 13 points and also pulled in two rebounds. Sitting alongside Jones was freshman phenom Milan Momcilovic who shot 50% from beyond the arc and also had 11 total points. The All-Big XII First-Team member had 10 points, six assists, and five rebounds. The last double-digit scorer was Hason Ward who made his impact on the night well-known, shooting 4-5 from the field and putting down 10 points, and picking up six rebounds.
On the opposite end, Baylor was led on the night by Jalen Bridges who put down one of two double-doubles for the Bears with 20 points and 12 rebounds. The other player to put down a double-double was Yves Missi who had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the other double-double on the night while earning two of the team’s three blocks. Caleb Lohner was the last double-digit scorer who shot 5-6 from the field and had 12 points for Baylor.
Iowa State led in points off turnovers 16-5, in steals 9-4, and in bench points with a 23-14 scoring advantage. Baylor had a major advantage in rebounds 42-28, in second-chance points 14-0, and in points in the paint 34-32.
The key to Iowa State’s success was its defense. They limited the Bears to just 39% from the field while Baylor went just 20.8% from beyond the arc. Iowa State shot 10-20 from beyond the arc and went 27-60 from the hardwood at 45%.
Iowa State will jump back into action on Saturday, March 16th when they battle #1 Houston in the Big XII Championship game at 5:00 p.m.
