KANSAS CITY, MO – In a thrilling Big 12 Conference Championship quarterfinal, the Arizona Wildcats defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 88-77 at T-Mobile Center on Thursday night. Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis each scored 19 points, leading the Wildcats to victory.
Third-seeded Arizona (21-11) will now face second-seeded and ninth-ranked Texas Tech in a Friday semifinal. The other semifinal will feature top-seeded Houston against fourth-seeded BYU.
Veesaar, coming off the bench, proved to be a pivotal factor, sinking 7 of 11 shots, including two three-pointers. He scored 10 points in the first half, helping Arizona establish a 45-37 lead. The Wildcats maintained control for most of the first half, building two 12-point leads.
Sixth-seeded Kansas (21-12) briefly held a 3-2 lead early in the game, courtesy of a Dajuan Harris Jr. three-pointer. However, Arizona quickly regained control. “We didn’t do a good job defensively and they shot the ball well early,” said Kansas head coach Bill Self. “We actually played pretty well for the next 20 minutes but our guys tried hard. I just didn’t feel like we had the energy defensively to keep them out of the paint.”
Zeke Mayo led the Jayhawks with 20 points, shooting 6 of 14 from the field and 5 of 12 from three-point range. Mayo’s performance marked his third consecutive game with five or more three-pointers, a feat not achieved by a Kansas player since at least 1996-97.
The game saw several momentum shifts in the second half. Mayo’s back-to-back three-pointers tied the score at 50, and Harris hit another three to give Kansas a 56-54 lead. Rylan Griffen’s jumper put Kansas ahead 63-61 with 8:44 remaining. However, Trey Townsend responded with a dunk and a three-point play, giving Arizona a lead they would not relinquish.
Townsend finished with 16 points, while Love contributed 11 points and six assists for Arizona.
Key Statistics:
- Arizona: Henri Veesaar 19 points, KJ Lewis 19 points, Trey Townsend 16 points.
- Kansas: Zeke Mayo 20 points, Dajuan Harris Jr. (contributing to lead changes).
Arizona’s late-game surge and strong bench performance proved to be the difference, sending them to the semifinals.
