KU basketball vs. Iowa State recap: Jayhawks win 71-58 in Big 12 tournament semifinal

KANSAS CITY — Kansas men’s basketball’s Big 12 Conference Tournament stay continued Friday with a matchup in the semifinals against Iowa State.

The No. 1-seed Jayhawks came in after a win in the quarterfinals against West Virginia. The No. 5-seed Cyclones came in after a win in the quarterfinals over Baylor. Kansas and Iowa State split the regular season series between the two programs.

Were the Jayhawks able to advance and stay on track to repeat as Big 12 Tournament champions? Were the Cyclones able to ensure that back-to-back titles wouldn't have the potential to come to pass? The Jayhawks once again had assistant coach Norm Roberts as the acting head coach, with Bill Self unavailable due to health reasons.

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Here's what happened inside the T-Mobile Center:

FINAL: Kansas 71, Iowa State 58

Kansas leads 59-50 against Iowa State with 3:28 left in 2nd half

Somehow, some way, Kansas might win this game by double digits. The Jayhawks lead by nine points with about three and a half minutes left in the second half. The Cyclones aren't doing enough offensively to put a scare into the Kansas faithful right now, as the clock runs out on the second half.

Jalen Wilson also has another double-double. He's at 21 points and 10 rebounds. Once again, in a pivotal moment, he's delivering.

Kansas leads 53-47 against Iowa State with 6:28 left in 2nd half

It feels like the Jayhawks are struggling to hold on in some respects. Kevin McCullar Jr. remains out, and at times they're using lineups one wouldn't think they would otherwise turn to in a moment like this. But they are surviving, and lead by six points with just less than six and a half minutes left in regulation.

Jalen Wilson and Gradey Dick have combined for 31 of Kansas' 53 points. The two are in double figures scoring, with no one else at more than six points on the night. But it's working, at least for now.

Kansas leads 46-41 against Iowa State with 11:26 left in 2nd half

Iowa State took its first lead of the game with 14:21 left in the second half, on a couple of free throws. That made it a 39-38 game, in favor of the Cyclones. But Kansas has recovered, and leads by five points with a bit less than 11 and a half minutes left in the second half.

Something to watch, is Jalen Wilson is up to three fouls. With Kevin McCullar Jr. out, the Jayhawks can ill-afford having Wilson miss much time because of a reason like that. Luckily for Kansas, it has seen Gradey Dick score seven points already in the second half.

Kansas leads 33-32 against Iowa State with 17:51 left in 2nd half

Iowa State has gone on a 7-0 run to start the second half, and this is certainly a game again if it ever wasn't. Kevin McCullar Jr. also exited the game during this stretch, possibly due to his back spasms that he's been dealing with recently. And all in all, it's a rough start for Kansas to this half.

Look to Jalen Wilson, Dajuan Harris Jr. and KJ Adams Jr. to lead the Jayhawks past this, if they can. Although Gradey Dick is a starter as well, those guys have been in Big 12 tournament environments like this before. Their veteran leadership, even if Adams is only a sophomore, is critical.

HALFTIME: Kansas 33, Iowa State 25

Dajuan Harris Jr. came back into the game with 1:50 remaining before halftime and Kansas leading 29-25. So, it appears if anything was bothering him it wasn't enough to keep him for returning. Harris will likely start the second half as well.

Kansas leads 29-23 against Iowa State with 3:40 left in 1st half

Iowa State is hanging around. The Cyclones have never led, and have trailed by as many as nine points, but they're still in it. Kansas leads by six points with a bit less than four minutes left in the first half.

Dajuan Harris Jr. seemed to limp some after getting fouled on a shot attempt recently, before then missing both free-throw attempts. He was later subbed out for Bobby Pettiford Jr. That'll be something to watch moving forward, but Harris has for the most part always tried to tough it out even if he's not feeling 100%.

Kansas leads 25-18 against Iowa State with 7:55 left in 1st half

The Cyclones haven't scored in almost two and a half minutes. Their turnovers are really causing them issues, as they've already had nine. By comparison, they've made just seven shots from the field — with a 2-for-4 mark from the free-throw line to supplement that.

The Jayhawks should probably be up by more than the seven points they are, but it's a comfortable lead at this point in the game. Something to watch, is how much bench production they get. Kansas has seen its bench players play some key minutes early, but the scoring has only been done by its starters and no bench player has even attempted a shot.

Kansas leads 19-14 against Iowa State with 11:49 left in 1st half

This is already trending toward being a high-scoring affair. Both sides are shooting the ball well from the field, with Kansas having the edge there. Although the Jayhawks' scoring is primarily coming from Jalen Wilson, the Iowa State Cyclones' scoring has been far more spread out.

Kansas does need to do much better rebounding defensively. Iowa State already has five offensive rebounds and five second chance points. That's affecting how influential the Jayhawks' 8-2 advantage in points off of turnovers is.

Kansas leads 13-9 against Iowa State with 14:48 left in 1st half

Jalen Wilson is on fire from the field, and already has 11 points in this one. He hit his first four shots, including a trio of 3s, before finally missing an attempt. And that's helped Kansas to a 13-9 lead with a little less than 15 minutes left in the first half.

Iowa State is shooting the ball well from the field to start, but also has too many early turnovers. The Cyclones have three turnovers, while the Jayhawks have just one. Kansas has scored six points off of Iowa State turnovers, while Iowa State hasn't scored any points off of the lone Kansas miscue.

The game is underway

Kansas won the opening tip-off, and this game has started.

Here's a look at who's in line to start for KU

No surprises so far in who'll be available for Kansas

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU basketball vs. Iowa State recap: Big 12 Tournament continued