Oklahoma ousts Iowa State in Big 12 quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY — Iowa State's Georges Niang and Oklahoma's Buddy Hield stood together on the floor in Sprint Center moments after a Big 12 tournament quarterfinal that could have just as easily been the conference title game.

It was a moment — as the ESPN camera was directed right on them — that exemplified the respect Niang and Hield have for one another. For Niang, it was a moment after a loss that stings.

'I think the worst part is being a senior. Like, this is it,' Niang said. 'It hasn't really hit me yet, but when it does I'm sure I'll sit there and have some emotional thoughts. This conference has been great to me. I'm forever thankful for what it has done for me.'

No. 19 Iowa State's quest for a third-straight Big 12 tournament title ended in a 79-76 loss to No. 6 Oklahoma, snapping a six-game winning streak the Cyclones had in the tournament. Just like the two shared the spotlight in the on-court interview, Niang and Hield both shined through on the stat sheet.

Hield poured in a game-high 39 points — two shy of the arena record — while Niang had 31 in a career-high tying performance.

Oklahoma led by as much as 14 in the second half after it went on a 12-3 run that spanned about five minutes in the first and second periods. That's when Niang, who sat out the last five minutes of the first half with two fouls, started to turn it up.

Niang scored 14-straight points in roughly five minutes for the Cyclones (21-11, 10-8) to draw Oklahoma's lead down to 67-61 with four minutes to play. The inability to stop the Sooners (25-6, 12-6) to go along with 18 turnovers was their undoing.

Iowa State had a chance, down four with 1 minute, 18 seconds to play, but a missed 3-pointer from senior Abdel Nader was snagged by Oklahoma, which sealed the win with free throws.

'We've just had so many tough, tough, close, close losses,' said Iowa State coach Steve Prohm, who was hit with a technical foul in the second half. 'I hate it from a coaching standpoint because I hate seeing the guys like this. They've done a tremendous job for me all year staying the course, saying the right things, doing the right things.

'This was just a tough loss. These guys expected to win. We just weren't good enough in a stretch and it kind of hurt us.'

Matt Thomas (13), Deonte Burton (12) and Nader (11) joined Niang in double-figure scoring while junior Monte Morris played 38 minutes after a shoulder injury six days ago against Kansas.

Morris was 1-for-9 shooting with five points, six rebounds and two assists. He said he had to play through quite a bit of pain and aggravated it with a few falls, but a week-long break before the first game of the NCAA tournament gives him time to step away from the court and rest as much as possible.

'Nobody knows how their body is going to take an injury, how fast you're going to recovery,' an uncharacteristically subdued Morris said. 'I hope it's going to get a lot better.'

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