KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lindell Wigginton found his way to Iowa State from Canada, Marial Shayok took a detour through the University of Virginia, and Michael Jacobson started his career at the University of Nebraska.
Three players from three very different backgrounds now have something in common: a title.
The trio helped the fifth-seeded Cyclones race to a big early lead against No. 17 Kansas on Saturday night, then contributed to enough crucial stops down the stretch, preserving a 78-66 victory over the Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament finale at Sprint Center.
“When you do something special, you win a championship, you got a connection for the rest of your life,” said Cyclones coach Steve Prohm, who brought together his team from far and wide.
“Hopefully this is just step one. We’ll enjoy this for a while, figure out where we’re going for the NCAA Tournament and then we’ll focus on that.”
Wigginton finished with 17 points, Shayok had 15 on his way to winning tournament MVP, and Jacobson finished with 14 for the Cyclones (23-11), who became the lowest-seeded team ever to win the conference tournament. They also improved to 2-0 against Kansas (25-9) in the finals.
“I think it was our best team win of the year because it was gritty,” said Shayok, who like Jacobson sat out last season after transferring. “Everybody stepped up.”
Dedric Lawson had 18 points and Devon Dotson added 17 for the third-seeded Jayhawks, whose last chance to win some hardware will be the NCAA Tournament. Their run of 14 consecutive regular-season crowns ended last weekend, and they failed to defend their Big 12 Tournament title.
“The way we competed, we showed some signs where we really wanted to win this game,” Dotson said. “But they hit some tough shots. We were missing some of our easy shots we usually make.”
Meanwhile, the Cyclones made a tremendous about-face during their stay in Kansas City.
They arrived having lost five of their last six regular-season games, and looked rudderless in losses to Texas and lowly West Virginia. But beginning with a blowout of Baylor and continuing with a quarterfinal win over regular-season champ Kansas State, the Cyclones found their stride.
The Jayhawks, still looking for their own, were fortunate to trail 32-22 at halftime.
Lawson, who had 24 points in the semifinals, was 2 of 11 from the field. Marcus Garrett was 0 for 6 from the floor and 1 of 4 from the foul line. Quentin Grimes was 0 or 4 from beyond the arc after hitting five 3-pointers in their win over the Mountaineers on Friday night.
All told, the Jayhawks shot 27.8 percent from the field and missed all nine of their 3-point attempts in the first half. They also were just 2 of 8 from the free-throw line.
“Just one of those nights,” Grimes said. “Every one of the shots we put up was a good shot.”
Iowa State had its own trouble on the offensive end of the floor, getting five shots swatted into the seats. But the Cyclones were effective at getting to the rim, and easy layups by Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton allowed them to take control.
Their lead swelled to 41-24 early in the second half. And even when the Jayhawks managed to nip into it, they would inevitably miss an open layup or throw the ball away.
Or, Jacobson would knock down an unlikely 3-pointer.
That was the case when the Jayhawks trimmed the deficit to 45-35 with 14 minutes to go. Iowa State’s big man calmly drained one from the top of the arc — all Kansas coach Bill Self could do was smile in disbelief — and Steve Prohm’s squad promptly ripped off seven straight points.
“We just didn’t make those plays that you need in order to put some real game pressure on them,” Self said. “They were better than us, make no mistake.”
NO. 8 TENNESSEE 82, NO. 4 KENTUCKY 78
NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Lamonte’ Turner hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 30 seconds left and Tennessee rallied to beat Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinal thriller.
Tennessee (29-4) trailed by eight with less than three minutes left before rallying to move a step closer to its first SEC Tournament title since 1979. The third-seeded Volunteers will face No. 22 Auburn (25-9) on Sunday.
Tennessee had an 11-2 run to take a 75-74 lead on a Grant Williams 3-pointer from in front of the Vols’ bench with 1:31 left. Kentucky (27-6) went back ahead with 1:06 left on PJ Washington’s putback.
Admiral Schofield missed a 3-pointer on Tennessee’s next possession, but Williams got the rebound and called a timeout with 38.5 seconds left. The Vols worked the ball to Turner for the 3-pointer from behind the top of the key.
Washington missed a shot from right around the basket and then missed a putback attempt in the last 15 seconds left. Tennessee’s Jordan Bone got the rebound, was fouled and made two free throws to put Tennessee ahead 80-76 with 10.9 seconds left. Ashton Hagans made a driving layup to cut the lead to 80-78 with four seconds remaining, but Bone sank two more free throws with 2.4 seconds left.
Schofield scored 21 points, Williams had 20 and Bone added 18 for Tennessee. Washington scored 16 points for Kentucky.
NO. 6 MICHIGAN St. 67, NO. 19 WISCONSIN 55
CHICAGO— Cassius Winston scored 21 points and Kenny Goins keyed Michigan State’s fast start, helping the Spartans beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten semifinals.
Seeking their sixth Big Ten tourney title, the Spartans (27-6) will face No. 10 Michigan in the final.
Winston, the Big Ten Player of the Year, went 9 for 17 from the field and had six assists.
Goins, Aaron Henry and Xavier Tillman led a dominant rebounding effort to help Michigan State beat Wisconsin (23-10) for the seventh straight time. Goins had 13 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots, and Henry had a career-high 11 rebounds. Ethan Happ had 20 points, six rebounds and four blocks for Wisconsin.
NO. 10 MICHIGAN 76, MINNESOTA 49
CHICAGO— Isaiah Livers scored a career-high 21 points and Michigan closed in on a record third straight Big Ten Tournament championship.
Zavier Simpson added 15 points and nine assists to help Michigan (28-5) win its 10th straight Big Ten Tournament game — the conference’s longest streak.
Amir Coffey had 14 points for Minnesota (21-13).
NO. 11 HOUTSON 61, MEMPHIS 58
MEMPHIS, Tenn.— Corey Davis Jr. scored 17 points and Houston weathered a late Memphis rally in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.
Top-seeded Houston will face No. 24 Cincinnati in the title game.
Jeremiah Martin led Memphis (21-13). On Memphis’ final possession, Tyler Harris missed a 3-pointer, then attempted a final one that was blocked by Fabian White as time expired.
NO. 18 BUFFALO 87, BOWLING GREEN 73
CLEVELAND— Jeremy Harris scored 31 points, C.J. Massinburg added 17 and Buffalo won its fourth Mid-American Conference title in five years.
Harris went 13 of 20 and was named the tournament’s MVP. Jayvon Graves also added 17 points for the Bulls (31-3), who had to play the final four minutes without center Nick Perkins after he fouled out when he was called for a technical.
Justin Turner and Daeqwon Plowden led Bowling Green (22-12) with 16 points apiece.
NO. 22 AUBURN 65, FLORIDA 62
NASHVILLE, Tenn.— Jared Harper hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left and Auburn held off Florida to reach the Southeastern Conference championship game for the first time since 2000.
Harper finished with 20 points, and Bryce Brown scored all 11 of his points in the second half for the Tigers (25-9). Kevarrius Hayes and Jalen Hudson each had 16 points for Florida.
NO. 24 CINCINNATI 66, WICHITA STATE 63
MEMPHIS, Tenn.— Nysier Brooks scored 13 points and Cane Broome hit the go-ahead layup with 23.5 seconds left to lift Cincinnati past Wichita State in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.
Tre Scott added 12 points and eight rebounds for Cincinnati (27-6). Jarron Cumberland, the conference player of the year was limited to 11 points on 3-of-16 shooting. Markis McDuffie had 18 for the Shockers (19-14).
NO. 25 VILLANOVA 74, SETON HALL 72
NEW YORK— Villanova became the first team to win three consecutive Big East Tournaments, beating Seton Hall behind seniors Eric Paschall and Phil Booth and key contributions from freshman Saddiq Bey.
Seton Hall star Myles Powell, guarded closely by Booth, missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds that could have won it. Booth was called for traveling as he tried to corral the rebound, however, and the Pirates got one more chance with 0.4 seconds left. Anthony Nelson’s long inbounds pass bounced off the backboard and was slapped away by the Wildcats (25-9).
Paschall had 17 points and eight rebounds, and Booth scored 16 points and was selected most outstanding player of the tournament. Bey had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Powell scored 25 points for the Pirates (20-13).