The 2017 Big 12 conference tournament is in the books.
The Iowa State Cyclones are your 2017 Big 12 conference tournament champions! The Cyclones took care of the West Virginia Mountaineers, 80-74, to take home the trophy. It is the third time in four years that Iowa State has won the league tournament.
Here’s a look at the final bracket. Click to enlarge.
The tournament’s most outstanding player, senior Monte Morris, led Iowa State to the title. He finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three assists in the win. Matt Thomas and Deonte Burton joined him on the all-tournament team. Thomas finished with 12 points and five boards on Saturday while Burton added 16 points and five rebounds plus a vicious alley-oop.
The win gives Iowa State some nice momentum heading into Selection Sunday. While the Cyclones likely won’t earn a top three seed in the NCAA Tournament, they’re very capable of making a run in March. Iowa State has one of the most potent offenses in the country and its roster is filled with players who can get hot from behind the 3-point arc and fill up the scoresheet.
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West Virginia won’t be hurt by missing out on the conference’s automatic bid. The Mountaineers entered Saturday’s contest with six RPI top 50 wisn, which will be plenty good enough to get them into the field as a reasonably high seed come Selection Sunday.
On Saturday, point guard Jevon Carter was West Virginia’s most important player. He scored 18 points in the defeat. Daxter Miles Jr., Esa Ahmad and Elijah Bacon also finished in double figures for the Mountaineers.
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The Big 12 will now await the verdict of the Selection Committee on Sunday evening. Five teams — Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma State and West Virginia — were locks to get into the NCAA Tournament prior to this weekend, but Kansas State may have played its way in with a win over the Bears in the quarterfinals.