Cyclones Win Big 12 Championship Title - Mar 15, 2015

It turns out that Iowa State's victory was decided when Kansas point guard Frank Mason (5'11''-PG) hit a 3-pointer with 2:17 remaining in the first half.
Confusing? Certainly. The Cyclones, aka The Comeback 'Clones, are making habit of being the tortoise to the hare and spotting the other team double-digit leads. In their last five games, Iowa State has trailed by a total of 75 points.
So Mason giving the top-seeded Jayhawks a 32-20 lead late in the first half of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Championship game was the perfect scenario for the defending champions. A 17-2 run in the first five minutes of the second half was the impetus for a 70-66 victory Saturday in the Sprint Center sound chamber.
'Quit' is a four-letter word for the Cyclones, who set a Big 12 Championship record for biggest halftime deficit (14 points) to win in the title game.
'I feel like we're built for this,' said Iowa State's Georges Niang (6'8''-F-93), who was named the Most Outstanding Player. 'We don't want to come back every time, but it just seems to keep happening to us. If that's our emergency button and that's what we have to do, then we're going to have to do it.'
From midway in the first half to the middle of the Cyclones' game-changing run, Niang scored 15 of his team's 23 points and had assists on two baskets by Jameel McKay (6'9''-F-92). Abdel Nader (6'6''-F-93) came off the bench to score 13 points and grabbed a huge offensive rebound that led to two free throws that gave Iowa State (25-8) the lead for good, 65-63 with 48 seconds remaining.
Mason was fouled attempting a three on KU's first possession of the second half and his free throws gave the Jayhawks a 40-23 lead 26 seconds after intermission.
'We got down 17 and they (the Cyclones) were still talking and positive in the huddle and that's a great sign when your guys can stick together through that adversity,' Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.
Iowa State, which is averaging 48 points in the second halves of its last five come-from-behind victories, made seven of its first nine shots with Nazareth Long (6'4''-G-93)'s layup off a McKay steal making it 42-40 with 14:46 remaining.
Game on.
'We talked about extending the lead at halftime, but when things fell apart�,' said Kansas coach Bill Self , who lost in the Big 12 Championship final for the first time in seven tries. 'They scored an absurd number of points in the paint the second half and none of them were off post-up touches, none of it. So it was off driving the ball or second shots and a lot of it was our turnovers that led to run-outs.'
In three Big 12 Championship games, Kansas (26-8) held its foes to 7-of-34 (20.5 percent) shooting from 3-point range. The Cyclones were 2-for-16; Niang made a three during the 17-3 run but Iowa State was without a key weapon against the Jayhawks.
Proving their versatility, the Cyclones attacked KU's defense off the dribble. During a key five minute stretch during which Iowa State built a 61-54 lead, it scored on seven of nine possessions with all the baskets coming on drives. The last basket came with 4:41 remaining when Monte' Morris hit a runner in the lane.
That score came when Kansas was playing a 3-2 zone, a rare strategy for Self.
'We went zone late � but the bottom line is we didn't defend and didn't rebound,' he said. 'We didn't do things the second half that we were doing the first half that allowed to us get a lead.'
The zone slowed Iowa State's rim runs and the Cyclones missed their last six field goals. Kansas' Wayne Selden, who scored a game-high 25, tied the game at 63-all with 1:29 remaining on a spectacular three-point play.
Nader, though, grabbed an offensive rebound of his own missed shot, was fouled and made both free throws with 48 seconds remaining.
'I knew they were in a zone, so it's easier to offensive rebound against that,' he said. 'I was on the backside of the defense, kind of snuck in there.'
For the second year in a row, Hilton Coliseum South was the scene of a post-game party. And it ended a week that started with unsettling news.
Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard suffered a heart attack and underwent triple bypass surgery Wednesday. He taped a message to Cyclones fans from his hospital bed in Des Moines that was played at the pre-game pep rally.
'This was a great week for us, for Jamie Pollard, this is a win for him and I know it was a stressful three days, but the end result I think was great for Jamie and his therapy,' Hoiberg said. 'He's the best, he's a great guy to work for, a great boss. And to win this one for him is really a special moment.'

Courtesy of Big12

Big 12 Tournament Final: Iowa State - Kansas 70-66
Big 12 Tournament Semifinals:
Kansas - Baylor 62-52
Iowa State - Oklahoma 67-65