KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Deonte Burton and Monté Morris weren’t sitting around their hotel room Thursday night after beating Oklahoma State watching SportsCenter highlights like one might expect.

They had a different plan: chicken wings and Forensic Files.

Morris loves the documentary-style crime show, and he got Burton hooked. The seniors, who have roomed together on road trips throughout the entire season, have stuck to that ritual the night before a game all year. They didn’t change that this weekend.

Their play hasn’t changed all weekend, either.

After leading the team past Oklahoma State on Thursday morning with a combined 39 points between the two, the pair did it again on Friday. No. 4 Iowa State (22-10, 12-6 Big 12) cruised past No. 8 TCU (19-15, 6-12 Big 12) 84-63 in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship, thanks to 22 points from Burton and 15 from Morris.

The win advances the Cyclones to the championship game in the tournament, their third appearance in the game in four years.

“It’s a blessing for one, just to be in this opportunity, this situation,” Morris said. “Getting the chance to compete for a trophy three out of my four years here speaks volume to the coaches I’ve had and the players I’ve been around. I’m extremely blessed for this opportunity, and so are my teammates.”

It was Morris’ day on Thursday — he was one assist away from a triple-double. Friday, though, was Burton’s turn.

Burton grabbed 13 points in the first half, leading the Cyclones to a 17-point lead at the break. He then opened up the second half with a quick seven points, extending Iowa State’s lead to 22.

It was clicking for him.

“He was aggressive,” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. “I thought he took good shots. He only took charted shots, maybe one or two bad ones. He’s really worked on his game, through the spring and the summer, he’s put a lot of time in to become a good shooter.

“He’s making shots, and he’s a tough matchup, defending him off the dribble. He’s finishing at the rim. He’s making free throws. He’s been playing really well for us in this stretch.”

He wasn’t the only one playing well. Naz Mitrou-Long added 11 points. Solomon Young put up nine. Donovan Jackson and Nick Weiler-Babb each had eight.

The Cyclones shot 56.4 percent from the field as a team, too.

After two nights in a row with at least three starters putting up double figures, shooting better than 50 percent from the field and knocking off two opponents who are either a lock for the NCAA Tournament or on the cusp of it, its easy to see that Iowa State is playing some of its best basketball of the season.

“We’re just focused. We’re locked in,” Mitrou-Long said. “We understand that nobody in this tournament is a walk over. We just want to win. We’re playing for each other right now. Nobody cares who gets the credit. We’re going to the right guy at the right time, tonight it was Deonte and Monte, and it’s just working out beautifully.”

Iowa State now advances to the championship game in a tournament for the second time this season — the first being the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando back in November. The Cyclones fell in the final to No. 4 Gonzaga in overtime.

After that, Prohm said he’s thrilled to get a second chance to win a trophy.

“They’ve come a long way,” Prohm said. “We had this opportunity down in Florida. I talked to them about getting beat by Gonzaga in the tournament championship back in November. You just tell them, ‘Hey when we stay the course and we do the right things, we’re going to have a moment like this back. We’re going to have another chance.’ We have that tomorrow.”

Iowa State will take on No. 3 West Virginia in the championship Saturday night at 5 p.m.

A win there would not only mark the Cyclones’ third tournament titles in four years, but it would be Morris’, Mitrou-Long’s and Matt Thomas’ third career tournament title.

Ending their careers on that note, Thomas said, has been one of their biggest goals all season.

Now, they’ll get their chance.

“We all want to go out on this note winning this third and how special it would mean to us and our fans and everyone who has supported us throughout this four-year journey,” Thomas said. “We’re going to do everything we can to finish this thing off.”