BYU Takes Down Iowa State, Advances To Big 12 Semifinals
Mar 13, 2025, 2:08 PM | Updated: Mar 14, 2025, 9:56 am
The good times rolled on for BYU basketball as they took down Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals. BYU defeated the Cyclones 96-92.
It was the most points scored by a team against a TJ Otzelberger-coached ISU team.
Like @JonRothstein says… THIS IS MARCH ‼️@BYUMBB wins an absolute thriller in its 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship debut to advance to Friday.
BYU will play either No. 16-seed Colorado or No. 1-seed Houston in the first of two semifinal games tomorrow at… pic.twitter.com/Ue0waJkne7
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 13, 2025
The Big 12’s Most Improved Player Award winner, Richie Saunders, hit a clutch 3-pointer with 49 seconds left in the game for the dagger.
Saunders finished with 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. The First Team All-Big 12 pick was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.
BYU finished the game with a season-high 18 three-pointers.
It was a high-level game of shotmaking as Iowa State also knocked down a season-high 13 threes.
Iowa State’s Curtis Jones scored a game-high 31 points. He scored 22 points over a five-minute stretch but was limited to nine points in the second half.
Iowa State was without guards Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert due to injuries.
BYU advances to the Big 12 Conference Tournament for the first time in program history.
It’s also the fourth consecutive win for BYU over Top 25 opponents. The longest streak for the program since 1951. BYU has now won nine consecutive games.
First Half
15:50 – BYU’s high-percentage corner three-point shooting was on full display as Mawot Mag hit a pair of treys. BYU 11, Iowa State 8.
11:42 – The Cougars got rolling as Dawson Baker and Richie Saunders knocked down some threes, and Fousseyni Traore got one the old-school way. BYU 25, ISU 15.
7:33 – Iowa State’s Curtis Jones started to heat up as the Cyclones jumped out to a 9-0 run. ISU’s Milan Momcilovic was also finding mismatches against BYU guards for some easy buckets. BYU 30, ISU 29.
6:09 – BYU’s Egor Demin was struggling with four of the Cougars’ six turnovers. Then Curtis Jones went unconscious with a pair of threes. Iowa State 38, BYU 32
3:47 – Kevin Young was fired up at official Bret Smith with some of the calls on the floor. Beyond some of the whistles, or lack there of, Curtis Jones was rolling. ISU 46, BYU 37.
2:30 – Mihailo Boskovic and Trey Stewart provided a spark to BYU off the bench. Stewart came up with a steal and flipped it up to Fousseyni Traore for a slam dunk. ISU 49, BYU 44.
Halftime: Iowa State 53, BYU 49
Iowa State’s Curtis Jones finished with 22 points. BYU took ISU’s best punch and was still standing by being down only four points.
Second Half
15:57 – Curtis Jones continued his hot shooting ways to open the second half as he scored a quick five points. ISU 64, BYU 56.
11:44 – Trey Stewart continued to provide strong minutes for BYU as he knocked down a three. ISU 72, BYU 69.
9:16 – BYU captured its first lead since it was 32-29 in the first half when Mihailo Boskovic buried a three to cap off an 11-0 run. Iowa State’s Nate Heise immediately countered with a three of his own. BYU 75, Iowa State 75.
7:52 – BYU hit their 17th three-pointer of the game after Richie Saunders buried a triple from the top of the arc. BYU 78, ISU 75.
3:57 – BYU built its lead as they began getting to the foul line. The Cougars hit five of their six free throws in the four-minute stretch. The Cougars have done a better job in the second half of slowing down Iowa State’s Curtis Jones. He’s been limited to seven points at this juncture of the second half. BYU 87, ISU 82.
0.48 – Richie Saunders buried a clutch three-pointer to quiet the large gathering of Iowa State fans and give BYU a four-point lead. BYU 92, ISU 88.
FINAL: BYU 96, Iowa State 92
Coming out of the timeout, Richie Saunders blocked a shot by Milan Momcilovic. Then BYU took care of business from the free throw line to close out the game.
Up next for BYU basketball
BYU will take on the winner of Colorado/Houston in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
