Iowa State men's basketball moves to Big 12 semifinals after third win over Baylor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. − Jaren Holmes’ free throw was short, careening off the front iron.

The missed front-end of a one-and-one should have been an opportunity for Baylor, which trailed by 10 and had a narrow path for a comeback with just 2:30 remaining. Holmes, though, was determined to use the moment to slam the door shut on the Bears.

Holmes cut through the lane, out-hustled a pair of would-be Baylor rebounders to corral his own miss and put it back up for an easy layup. It put the Cyclones up 12 and on the path to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

"That was kind of icing on the cake," Holmes said.

The Cyclones bested No. 10 Baylor for the third time this season with an impressive 78-72 victory Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Arena.

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It was the second win over the Bears (22-10) in the last week for the Cyclones (19-12), who won in Waco by 15 last Saturday.

Iowa State advanced to the semifinals of the tournament for the first time since 2019, when the Cyclones went on to win their fourth Big 12 Tournament title in six years. This time, they’ll face Kansas.

The Cyclones got a huge day from Gabe Kalscheur, who finished with 24 points. It helped them overcome a supernatural shooting performance from Baylor’s Jalen Bridges, who tallied 28 points.

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Tamin Lipsey registered 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five steals for the Cyclones, who had 21 offensive rebounds on the day as a team.

"He does such a great job out there," Kalscheur said of the freshman point guard. "The stats show it today, but even in other games when his stats aren’t all that, but he does so many things that some people don’t see.

"I’m so honored to play with him."

Baylor was able to exploit Iowa State’s defense early, scoring 41 first-half points, but the Bears shot just 35.7% from the floor in the second half as the Cyclones’ defense ramped up the pressure.

Friday’s game will tip at 6 p.m. and be broadcast by either ESPN or ESPN2.

Iowa State vs. Baylor basketball game featured a shooting duel

Bridges entered Thursday afternoon shooting 27.7% from 3-point range. In two games against Iowa State, the junior was a combined 1-of-6 from distance.

Thursday, he hardly missed.

Bridges made his first nine shots from the floor, including six from 3-point range, and finished 10-of-11 overall and 7-of-8 from beyond the arc for a career-high 28 points.

Iowa State countered, though, with a sharpshooter of its own.

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Kalscheur went 9-of-15 from the floor and 6-of-11 from deep to finish with 24 as the two teams went shot-for-shot during long stretches of the highly competitive and well-played game.

"There’s a back-and-forth battle," Kalscheur said, "but it’s the team. It’s a team dynamic. Opportunities were there and I took advantage of it.

"I’ve been telling myself to live in the moment. There’s really no pressure. I can’t say there’s pressure because I’ve worked for this."

Kalscheur is shooting 48 percent from 3-point range in the Cyclones' last four games.

"Gabe’s confidence right now is sky-high," Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said, "and his teammates are really looking for him."

While Kalscheur being able to match Bridges was key for Iowa State, perhaps even more impressive was how the Cyclone defense was able to eliminate Bridges as a threat in the game's final stretch.

Bridges hit his seventh 3-pointer with 10 minutes, 6 seconds to play to put Baylor up a pair. He did not attempt another shot the rest of the game.

It was a defensive switch from Iowa State that kept the Cyclones from generating the turnovers they feasted on earlier in the game, but kept Bridges from continuing to inflict significant damage.

"When you’re switching more, we’re probably not as disruptive in terms of bringing two to the basketball to try to force you to make a pass under duress," Otzelberger said. "Felt like we needed to switch more certainly with Bridges to try to take him (away), but then try to keep their guards in front, which is really challenging to do."

Baylor was 5 of 13 (38.4 percent) from the floor in the final 10 minutes.

"We just tried to stick to our goals, make that game as grimy as possible," Holmes said. "We had 21 offensive rebounds. That’s where we win it at. In the paint. That’s the type of team we are.

"We’re not going to sit here and out-shoot Baylor. We’re going to have to do it between those lines in the paint. That’s the type of team we are and we’re going to continue to be."

Iowa State faces Kansas in Big 12 Tournament semifinals

Iowa State's opponent will be Kansas.

The Cyclones were split against the Jayhawks with both teams winning at home.

Kansas was played its quarterfinal game without two-time national champion coach Bill Self, who was hospitalized with what the school called an undisclosed illness.

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Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball in first Big 12 Tournament semifinals since 2019