The No. 1 seed Kansas State Wildcats (25-7, 14-4 Big 12) stormed out the gate Friday evening in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, and did so again to start the second half after going ice cold for 10 minutes, but down the stretch they couldn’t hold off the fifth-seeded Iowa State Cyclones (22-11, 9-9 Big 12) in the Sprint Center in Kansas City, as Iowa State won 63-59.
K-State got out to a great start, opening the game with a forceful dunk by junior Makol Mawien, and built a 21-14 lead by the 10-minute mark as the Wildcats benefited from numerous Iowa State turnovers.