COLORADO 67, NEBRASKA 60

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Colorado Buffaloes will move on to face top-seeded Kansas after defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 67-60 in the Big 12 tournament Thursday.

Colorado’s sophomore guard Blair Wilson led all scorers with 24 points, as he shot six of 11 from long range.

“The coaches wanted us to come out and be aggressive,” Wilson said. “Toward the end, I started feeling good about my shot and my shot is a three point shot, so that is what I did.”

Nebraska was plagued with shooting trouble as the team shot just under 30 percent from the field. Senior guard Cary Cochran scored 22 for the Huskers as he too went six of 11 from behind the arc.

“I never felt I had to answer something that they did,” Cochran said. “My guys did a really good job screening for me, and fortunately the shot went in.”

Nebraska ends its season at 6-11 in the Big 12 and 13-15 overall. Colorado improves to 6-11 in the conference and will face the Jayhawks Friday at noon.

“We are really going to have to come out and just play the best we can,” Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton said about facing Kansas.

TEXAS TECH 80, TEXAS A&M 71

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Senior big man Andy Ellis scored 27 and sophomore guard Andre Emmett scored 24 as the Texas Tech Red Raiders rolled past Texas A&M, 80-71.

Ellis made 10 of 13 shots while playing all 40 minutes of the game. Emmett grabbed six boards and added two steals in the Red Raider’s victory.

“We try to get the ball inside in every game we play to open up our outside game,” Ellis said. “We have a lot of guys who can knock down jump shots. We didn’t get very many shots inside in the first half, so in the second half we changed that.”

A&M led Tech by two at the half, but Bob Knight’s team came out and executed in the second half and outscored the Aggies, 50-39.

“We had intensity that we did not have in the first half,” Tech junior Will Chavis said. “In the second half we stepped it up and that brought more energy into the game.”

Texas Tech will move on and face Oklahoma State in the second round of the Big 12 tournament Friday.

“It’s going to be a tough game,” Tech assistant coach Pat Knight said. “We both match up really well against each other. I think it is a good game for us to prepare for the NCAA tournament.”

KANSAS STATE 74, BAYLOR 73

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It took awhile for the Kansas State Wildcats to pull out a close one against the Baylor Bears, 74-73.

With one second left in overtime, Kansas State forward Matt Siebrandt made one of two free throws to give his team victory.

“To tell you the truth, I was really nervous when he got fouled,” the Wildcat freshman guard said. “When the first one went in I started to feel a little bit more comfortable.”

Senior Larry Reid put in 21 for the Wildcats to help extend his collegiate career at least one more game. Kansas State will face Oklahoma in the second round of the tournament.

The two teams were evenly matched as the game was tied at 30 at the half and 60 at the end of regulation. Kansas State had the edge in the paint as they outscored the Bears 34-26. The Wildcats also shot 48 percent from the field to Baylor’s 43 percent.

“We found a way to win the game,” Kansas State head coach Jim Woolridge said.

“It wasn’t pretty by any means, but it was a win in the end.”

– Kyle Moss