KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In what could easily have been the game of the year in college basketball, No. 7 Iowa State (27-7, 12-6 Big 12) came up just short, falling to No. 2 Arizona (31-2, 14-2 Big 12) at the buzzer, 82-80.
Meeting for the second time in two weeks, the Wildcats and Cyclones put on a show in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals, trading haymakers throughout. The two teams would combine to make their last 11 shots from the field, with Arizona making the last one at the horn to earn the win.
Big 12 Player of the Year Jaden Bradley broke the hearts of Cyclone fans, converting a baseline fadeaway jumper over the outstretched arm of Toure to advance the Wildcats to the championship game.
Milan Momcilovic went off for the Cyclones, canning eight triples of varying difficulty and finishing with 28 points to lead all scorers. Tamin Lipsey, who buried a game-tying three with 15 seconds left, had a game-high seven assists. Joshua Jefferson had 21 for ISU, while Killyan Toure had 12 points.
Arizona’s Anthony Dell’Orso went shot-for-shot with Momcilovic down the stretch, as the Arizona wing had 26 points to lead all Wildcats. Dell’Orso made six 3-pointers of his own, accounting for 75% of the team’s scoring from downtown. Jaden Bradley had 15 points and was the shot-maker down the stretch for Arizona. Tobe Awaka had a double-double with ten points and ten boards, while Ivan Kharchenkov had 17.
ISU outrebounded Arizona, 34-33, and won the turnover battle, but the Wildcats were still able to shoot 55 percent from the floor to fuel an efficient night on offense. ISU’s bench was outscored 36-3, and the Wildcats held a 38-26 edge in points in the paint.
How it Happened
In what proved to be a game of runs, Iowa State threw the first blow, jumping out to a 12-point lead in the first five minutes of the game behind a pair of triples from Jefferson and Momcilovic.
The Cyclones saw their 14-2 lead trimmed to six points after back-to-back Arizona threes, but ISU would re-establish and stabilize, continuing to hold the lead.
The Wildcats inched closer at the five-minute mark, trimming the lead to three, the lowest it had been since the 19-minute mark. Arizona would eventually take the lead, its first of the game, at the two-minute mark off an Awaka layup. Koa Peat would make a layup on the subsequent possession, pushing the lead to three.
What happened from there was a mini-Momcilovic run. In the final 30 seconds of play, Milan Momcilovic canned three triples, with the third coming at the first half buzzer, to put ISU on top, 43-37, heading into the break.
Iowa State would hold its halftime lead for the first ten minutes of the second half before Arizona started to get some serious momentum going. After taking a one-point lead with 10 minutes to go, Arizona pushed it to five points just north of the two-minute mark.
With the Wildcats leading 76-71 and 2:30 left on the clock, the two teams unleashed a furious display of shot-making. ISU’s three makes down the stretch were all 3-pointers, with one coming from Momcilovic, one from Lipsey, and one from Jefferson. Lipsey’s tied things up at 80 with 15 seconds left.
Jaden Bradley took the ensuing inbound and came down the floor in control. He took Killyan Toure one-on-one to the baseline and rose up to hit a midrange two, the first buzzer-beater in the Big 12 Tournament since Monté Morris in 2015 against Texas.
Arizona will look to earn its first Big 12 title, having made the title game last year before falling to Houston.
Key Performer
Killyan Toure picked a great time to get his groove back, as the rookie Frenchman scored in double figures for the first time since February 1st, knocking down two triples in the process. Toure also provided excellent on-ball defense, guarding Arizona’s guards as well as you could draw up.
Notes
- As a team, Iowa State now has 305 steals on the year. That’s the fifth-most in a single season in school history.
- ISU now has 307 triples on the year. That’s the third-most 3-pointers in a season in school history.
- Joshua Jefferson scored 10-plus points for the 34th time this season and for the 40th-straight game.
- Jefferson now has 167 assists this season, tying Jacy Holloway for the 19th-most in a single season in school history.
- Tamin Lipsey is now up to 68 steals this season, matching his mark from last year.
- Lipsey finished his Big 12 Tournament career with 101 points scored in nine games. His 15 threes in KC are the third-most in program history.
- Lipsey tied Monté Morris with 42 career assists in the Big 12 Tournament. Morris had 42 in 10 games, Lipsey did so in nine.
- Milan Momcilovic has now hit a 3-pointer in 19-conescutive games.
- He has 127 threes on the year – the second-most in a single Big 12 season in conference history.
- Momcilovic passed Loren Meyer for the 22nd-most points in program history, surpassing 1,300 career points.
- Momcilovic went over 250 career triples.
- Momcilovic now has 120 career points at the Big 12 Tournament – the third-most in ISU history.
- Momcilovic’s 13 threes in this Big 12 Tournament are the most in a single tournament by an ISU player.
- Blake Buchanan played in his 100th career game.
Up Next
No. 7 Iowa State will await its postseason designation, as the Selection Shows is set for this Sunday, March 15. ISU will begin NCAA Tournament play either next Thursday or Friday.
