Kansas is two wins away from winning the Big 12 championship after already winning the regular season title. Freshman Andrew Wiggins has stepped up and looking like the No. 1 recruit he was prior to the season beginning after carrying the Jayhawks in two-straight wins. Now, he will be tested once again as Kansas faces ranked Iowa State in the seminfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Wiggins put up 30 points in the Jayhawks' win over Oklahoma State in their first game of the tournament. Kansas ended on a 9-0 run, securing the 77-70 win to advance. It was Kansas' 18th win in 19 games and they look to keep the streak going. Wiggins' 30 points was one shy of Wayne Simien's record for most points in a Big 12 tournament. Wiggins has combined for 70 points in his last two games, setting himself up for a nice spot in the NBA Draft.
Kansas has solid history against Iowa State even though the Cyclones rank at No. 16 in the polls. The Jayhawks have won the last five games against their Big 12 rivals, including the season series where Wiggins had 17 points and 19 rebounds in one game and 29 points in another.
The Cyclones are ready to keep their March Madness title dreams alive by upsetting the Jayhawks on Friday. The team had no issues with Kansas State after Melvin Ejim put up 24 poitns and 10 rebounds and Dustin Hogue added another 19 points to the total. Ejim struggled against Kansas this season. The leading scorer had just a combined 33 points in both games while shooting just 42.9 percent overall.
Iowa State hopes to capitalize off the absence of center Joel Embiid. He remains out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his back. Head coach Bill Self remains confident that the center can rejoin the team sometime this weekend in the tournament.