Inside The Wildcats

Arizona beats Kansas to advance to Big 12 Tournament semifinals

The Wildcats will play Texas Tech in the semifinals

Ben Sherman

Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) rebounds during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at T-Mobile Center.
Arizona Wildcats forward Henri Veesaar (13) rebounds during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at T-Mobile Center. / William Purnell-Imagn Images
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The Arizona Wildcats (21-11) are hoping to improve their NCAA Tournament seed with a run in the Big 12 Tournament — and they're off to a good start.

The Wildcats overpowered Kansas 88-77 on Thursday night in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals, outscoring the Jayhawks 46-20 in the paint. Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis led Arizona with 19 points apiece off the bench. Trey Townsend added 16 points.

Just five days after giving up 33 points to Hunter Dickinson in an 83-76 loss, Arizona held Kansas' big man to 19 points and relentlessly attacked him in the paint.

Arizona moves on to face Texas Tech in the semifinals on Friday night. Houston and BYU will face off in the other semifinal.

Read our full game recap below.

FINAL STATS: ARIZONA 88, KANSAS 77

Henri Veesaar had arguably his best game of the season with 19 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists — all while guarding Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson and holding him to 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting. Veesaar was 7-of-11 from the field and 2-of-3 from downtown.

KJ Lewis rebounded from one of his worst games of the season with one of his best. He finished with 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists off the bench. He was 6-of-11 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line. Trey Townsend had 16 points (6-of-8 shooting) and Caleb Love had 11 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.

SECOND HALF RECAP

Arizona 88, Kansas 77, final: The Wildcats pick up a huge win in what was basically a home game for Kansas. They move on to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals vs. Texas Tech on Friday night.

Arizona 82, Kansas 72, 1:30 left: Kansas has cooled off from the the perimeter and Arizona continues to pound the ball inside. It has been a good formula for the Wildcats, who have taken over the game late. Arizona has a staggering 44-18 advantage in the paint.

Arizona 73, Kansas 69, 4:22 left: Henri Veesaar has been a beast down low. He has 17 points and 3 key offensive rebounds. Arizona is outscoring Kansas in the paint 38-18.

Arizona 66, Kansas 63, 7:48 left: Back-and-forth we go. Trey Townsend converts an "and-one" to give Arizona the lead. He now leads the Wildcats with 13 points.

Kansas 59, Arizona 56, 11:14 left: Zeke Mayo is on fire. He has 18 points and is 5-of-9 from downtown. And almost all of them have been tough, well-defended shots. Arizona, on the other hand, is 0-of-5 from downtown to start the second half.

Arizona 52, Kansas 50, 14:53 left: Kansas opens the second half on a 13-7 run to close the gap. Hunter Dickinson is heating up and already has 7 points in the half. For the game he has 15 points and 11 rebounds.

Arizona foul trouble: The Wildcats have been whistled for three fouls in the first two minutes of the second half. Tobe Awaka has 3 fouls and is out of the game.

HALFTIME STATS: ARIZONA 45, KANSAS 37

Arizona shot 53.3% (16-of-30) from the field and 63.6% (7-of-11) from downtown in the first half. Arizona's bench — Henri Veesaar, KJ Lewis and Carter Bryant — has been a huge factor, outscoring Kansas' bench 21-8.

FIRST HALF RECAP

Arizona 45, Kansas 37, halftime: Henri Veesaar has outplayed Hunter Dickinson through the first 20 minutes. Veesaar has 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting and Dickinson has 8 points on 3-of-10 shooting. Veesaar pulled Dickinson away from the basket and drilled two 3-pointers, and he consistently sprinted the floor in transition, which wore Dickinson down.

Arizona 38, Kansas 35, 2:43 left: This is a highly entertaining game. Both teams have made big runs and both teams are shooting the lights out. Kansas is 7-of-14 from downtown and Arizona is 6-of-10. The Wildcats lead because they're dominating the paint (16-4 scoring advantage). All eight Arizona players who have entered the game have scored.

Wildcats on fire: Arizona is 5-of-6 from the 3-point line and leads 27-16 with 10:57 left.

Carter Bryant 3! Arizona leads 19-9.

Arizona 14, Kansas 9, 15:06 left: The Wildcats are 6-of-10 from the field and are getting out in transition. Tommy Lloyd clearly wants to push the pace.

Arizona 9, Kansas 6, 16:30 left: Henri Veesaar hits a 3-pointer to give Arizona an early lead. Great sign for the Wildcats.

We are underway in Kansas City.

PREGAME UPDATES

Arizona is favored by 2.5 points in the latest betting odds. Tipoff is schedule for 8:48 p.m. CT on ESPN.

How many Arizona fans made the trip to Kansas City? We'll find out soon.

More Arizona & Big 12 Analysis

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.

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