No. 17 Cowboys KO Kansas
Desmond Mason had no intention of going without a field goal two straight games.
Rebounding from an 0-for-8 outing in Oklahoma State's final regular-season game, the All-Big 12 forward had 22 points and 12 rebounds Friday as the 17th-ranked Cowboys beat No. 24 Kansas 77-58 on Friday, the Jayhawks' first-ever Big 12 tournament loss.
The Jayhawks (23-9) had hoped to avenge the third-worst loss in school history, but Mason made sure they never got closer than 12 in the second half.
"I just came out today ready and focused," said Mason, who averaged almost 19 points for the season. "My teammates were getting me open and I was knocking them down."
Kansas, which won the first three Big 12 tournaments, was out to avenge an 86-53 loss at Oklahoma State (24-5) on Feb. 7. But with Mason hitting five straight field goals, the Cowboys roared to a 40-26 half-time lead and increased their advantage to 23 points midway through the second half.
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"It was just a matter of going back to practice and getting focused," he said. "That was a devastating loss. It really hurt me. I told myself that I was going to dedicate myself to the game of basketball and it paid off."
Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said he never expected to beat Kansas twice in a row.
"Mark it down," he said. "It won't happen again. Our team knew we had to play well. We had great play from our starters."
Oklahoma State will meet No. 7 Iowa State, the Big 12 regular-season champion, in the semifinals Saturday. Marcus Fizer, the Big 12's unanimous choice for layer of the year, scored 38 points Friday in Iowa State's 76-64 victory over Baylor.
Kansas was 3-of-14 from the line and was outrebounded 49-39.
"If you go 3-for-14 from the foul line against a good team, you're going to lose," Kansas coach Roy Williams said. "We got ourselves in a hole It's hard to come back because they're so efficient offensively."
After Joe Adkins' basket put Oklahoma State on top 65-42, Drew Gooden hit consecutive 3-pointers and Kansas made an 11-0 run to slice the lead to 65-53.
But Oklahoma State point guard Doug Gottlieb, one of the worst free-throw shooters in the Big 12, made 3-of-4 from the line in the next two minutes, bringing a roar from the Oklahoma State fans, and the Cowboys quickly regained control.
Fredrik Jonzen and Joe Adkins each had 15 points for Oklahoma State.
Gooden had 17 points for Kansas and Nick Collison had 12.
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