KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

The Lowdown

After two comeback efforts in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Big 12 tournament, Iowa State did it again. Iowa State (25-8, 12-6 Big 12) knocked off 1-seed Kansas (26-8, 13-5 Big 12) 70-66 in a 17-point second half comeback victory.

Iowa State went down by double-digits in the first half for the fifth consecutive game, trailing the Jayhawks by 14 points to close the half. The Cyclones made just 1-of-11 3-pointers and Montè Morris, Naz Long, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Dustin Hogue combined to shoot 0-for-11 from the floor.

But as the Cyclones have done in each of the past four games, they launched a 17-2 run 30 seconds into the second half to pull within two points of the Jayhawks before the under-12 timeout.

Bench players Abdel Nader and Bryce Dejean-Jones had dominating second half performances off the bench, combining for 20 points and six rebounds.

Jameel McKay scored 11 points in the win, Montè Morris 11, and Georges Niang 19 to round out the double digit scoring.

The win is the second Big 12 tournament win in a row for Iowa State.

The Turning Point

With under two minutes to play, Kansas managed to tie the game at 63. However, Iowa State was able to hit free throws down the stretch, making seven of their last eight to take down the Jayhawks.

The X-Factor

Georges Niang — The junior Wooden Award finalist was the only Cyclone in double figures the first half, helping his team to a second straight Big 12 tournament championship and scoring in double figures in all eight Big 12 postseason games of his career.

Niang finished with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists.

By the Numbers

2 — Made 3-pointers by ISU

17 — Point comeback by Iowa State

21 — Bench points by the Cyclones

22 — ISU points off turnovers

46 — ISU points in the paint