Kansas State, Kansas romp in Big 12 quarterfinals

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/12/2010 -

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Kansas State is one win away from getting one last shot at its archrival.

Both the Wildcats and No. 1 Kansas advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday, keeping alive hopes for a Sunflower State showdown for the conference title.

The Jayhawks, after surviving a scare by Texas Tech, will meet No. 23 Texas A&M in Friday's semifinals while No. 9 Kansas State takes on No. 21 Baylor.

An all-Kansas affair in the title game would be the first in the history of the tournament and give the Wildcats an opportunity to make up for a two-game sweep at the hands of the hated Jayhawks.

It would also help attendance - the other two semifinalists are more than 600 miles from Kansas City.

In the other quarterfinals on Thursday, Donald Sloan scored 23 points and Khris Middleton had 17 to lead the Aggies past Nebraska 70-64, and Baylor got 25 points from Epke Udoh in an 86-67 win over Texas.

Second-seeded Kansas State romped past Oklahoma State 83-64 behind Jacob Pullen's 19 points.

``Our guys were phenomenal in practice the last three days,'' said coach Frank Martin, whose Wildcats had ended the regular season with a disappointing upset loss to Iowa State. ``And we got back to some of the things that make us a good basketball team.''

Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn got in quick foul trouble and had only two points in the first half, but scored 17 in the second half as the Bears beat Texas for the third time this year. Tweety Carter had 20 points for Baylor.

``I wanted to come out and just provide for my team,'' he said. ``Score the ball, rebounding, whatever it takes to get the victory. So I think I did a great job of it.''

Damion James had 18 points and 12 rebounds for Texas but fouled out in the final minutes. Going back to last year, it was the fourth straight victory for Baylor over the team that used to dominate them.

``I think it sums up our whole season in the last couple of months,'' said Texas coach Rick Barnes. ``This game pretty much sums up the inconsistencies we've had all year.''

Kansas, playing for the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA field to be announced Sunday night, led Texas Tech by only two points at halftime. But Cole Aldrich had 12 points and 18 rebounds and senior guard Sherron Collins put in 19 points, one of four Jayhawks in double figures.

It was also the 2,000th victory in Kansas' storied program. They're just the third school to reach that number.

``It means a lot to us right now,'' Collins said. ``We don't want to put too much focus on it. But it means a lot to people who support us and people who played before us.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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