KANSAS

ARIZ

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Arizona pulls away late to beat Kansas 88-77 in a Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal

AP
Mar 14, 2025

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis scored 19 points apiece and Arizona pulled away late to beat Kansas 88-77 in a Big 12 Conference Tournament quarterfinal at T-Mobile Center on Thursday night.

Veesaar came off the bench to sink 7 of 11 shots with two 3-pointers for the third-seeded Wildcats (21-11), who move on to play second-seeded and ninth-ranked Texas Tech in a Friday semifinal. No. 1 seed Houston plays No. 4 seed BYU in the other semifinal.

Veesaar scored 10, leading Arizona to a 45-37 advantage at halftime. Dajuan Harris Jr.'s 3-pointer gave No. 6 seed Kansas (21-12) its only lead of the half at 3-2. The Wildcats twice built 12-point leads. KJ Adams made two free throws to get the Jayhawks within 40-37, but Veesaar answered with a 3-pointer and Arizona stayed in front.

Arizona played with a lead until Zeke Mayo hit back-to-back 3-pointers for Kansas to knot the score at 50 with 15:43 remaining. Harris hit a 3-pointer to give the Jayhawks their second lead at 56-54. Rylan Griffen hit a jumper with 8:44 left to put Kansas up for the last time at 63-61. Trey Townsend followed with a dunk and a three-point play and Arizona maintained a lead over the final 7:48.

Towsend had 16 points and Love scored 11 with six assists.

Mayo scored 20 to lead Kansas. Hunter Dickinson totaled 19 points and 12 rebounds. Harris hit four 3-pointers and scored 16.

The Jayhawks wore their blue jerseys in the tournament for the first time since the 2008 title game against the Texas Longhorns. They were the higher seed and wore white in their previous 36 straight games. Kansas - the two seed in '08 - beat the top-seeded Longhorns 84-74.

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1st Half
KAN
Jayhawks
37
ARIZ
Wildcats
45

Time		Play	Score
20:00		(Jayhawks gains possession)
19:46		KJ Adams misses two point layup
19:44		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
19:32	+2	Trey Townsend makes two point layup	0-2
19:10	+3	Dajuan Harris Jr. makes three point jump shot (KJ Adams assists)	3-2
18:52	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point jump shot	3-4
18:41		Tobe Awaka personal foul
18:34		Rylan Griffen turnover (bad pass) (Caleb Love steals)
18:29	+2	Caleb Love makes two point layup	3-6
18:15	+2	Hunter Dickinson makes two point jump shot (Zeke Mayo assists)	5-6
17:59		Henri Veesaar misses two point layup
17:57		Zeke Mayo defensive rebound
17:49		Jaden Bradley personal foul
17:45		Trey Townsend shooting foul (Zeke Mayo draws the foul)
17:45	+1	Zeke Mayo makes regular free throw 1 of 2	6-6
17:45		Zeke Mayo misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:45		Trey Townsend defensive rebound
17:17		Jaden Bradley misses two point jump shot
17:15		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
17:10		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
17:08		Caleb Love defensive rebound
17:00		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
16:58		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
16:46		Rylan Griffen misses three point jump shot
16:44		Henri Veesaar defensive rebound
16:38	+3	Henri Veesaar makes three point jump shot (Jaden Bradley assists)	6-9
16:10	+3	Hunter Dickinson makes three point jump shot (Zeke Mayo assists)	9-9
15:55		Trey Townsend misses two point layup
15:53		Henri Veesaar offensive rebound
15:50	+3	Anthony Dell'Orso makes three point jump shot (Henri Veesaar assists)	9-12
15:35		Hunter Dickinson turnover (bad pass) (Caleb Love steals)
15:31	+2	Jaden Bradley makes two point layup (Caleb Love assists)	9-14
15:10		Hunter Dickinson misses two point jump shot
15:06		Jayhawks offensive rebound
15:06		TV timeout
14:53		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
14:51		Wildcats defensive rebound
14:30	+3	Carter Bryant makes three point jump shot (KJ Lewis assists)	9-17
14:24		Jayhawks 30 second timeout
14:16		Dajuan Harris Jr. turnover (bad pass)
14:06		Flory Bidunga shooting foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul)
14:06	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	9-18
14:06	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	9-19
13:53		Dajuan Harris Jr. turnover (traveling)
13:31		Henri Veesaar turnover (traveling)
13:16	+2	Flory Bidunga makes two point dunk (Hunter Dickinson assists)	11-19
13:03		Flory Bidunga blocks KJ Lewis's two point layup
13:01		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
12:42	+3	Hunter Dickinson makes three point jump shot (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists)	14-19
12:28	+2	Henri Veesaar makes two point layup	14-21
12:09		Flory Bidunga misses two point layup
12:09		Hunter Dickinson offensive rebound
12:09		Hunter Dickinson misses two point layup
12:07		Hunter Dickinson offensive rebound
12:07		KJ Lewis personal foul
11:53		AJ Storr misses two point jump shot
11:51		Carter Bryant defensive rebound
11:44	+3	Carter Bryant makes three point jump shot (KJ Lewis assists)	14-24
11:30	+2	Dajuan Harris Jr. makes two point layup	16-24
11:10	+3	KJ Lewis makes three point jump shot (Trey Townsend assists)	16-27
10:57		Caleb Love personal foul
10:57		TV timeout
10:42	+3	David Coit makes three point jump shot (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists)	19-27
10:26	+2	Tobe Awaka makes two point layup (Caleb Love assists)	19-29
10:15		Carter Bryant personal foul
9:57		Hunter Dickinson misses three point jump shot
9:55		Carter Bryant defensive rebound
9:51		Carter Bryant turnover (bad pass)
9:36		David Coit misses three point jump shot
9:30		Wildcats defensive rebound
9:22		David Coit personal foul
9:05		Rylan Griffen shooting foul (Jaden Bradley draws the foul)
9:05	+1	Jaden Bradley makes regular free throw 1 of 2	19-30
9:05	+1	Jaden Bradley makes regular free throw 2 of 2	19-31
8:50		Rylan Griffen misses two point jump shot
8:48		KJ Adams offensive rebound
8:39		Hunter Dickinson turnover (bad pass) (KJ Lewis steals)
8:34		Jaden Bradley misses two point layup
8:32		Zeke Mayo defensive rebound
8:32		KJ Lewis personal foul (Zeke Mayo draws the foul)
8:32	+1	Zeke Mayo makes regular free throw 1 of 2	20-31
8:32	+1	Zeke Mayo makes regular free throw 2 of 2	21-31
8:05	+2	Caleb Love makes two point jump shot	21-33
7:45	+3	David Coit makes three point jump shot (Hunter Dickinson assists)	24-33
7:25		Trey Townsend turnover (bad pass)
7:25		TV timeout
7:15	+3	Dajuan Harris Jr. makes three point jump shot	27-33
6:47		Caleb Love misses two point jump shot
6:45		Flory Bidunga defensive rebound
6:31		Flory Bidunga misses two point jump shot
6:29		Jaden Bradley defensive rebound
6:19	+2	Henri Veesaar makes two point jump shot (Anthony Dell'Orso assists)	27-35
5:55		David Coit misses three point jump shot
5:53		KJ Adams offensive rebound
5:53		Henri Veesaar personal foul (KJ Adams draws the foul)
5:53	+1	KJ Adams makes regular free throw 1 of 2	28-35
5:53		KJ Adams misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:53		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
5:52		Flory Bidunga personal foul
5:38		Anthony Dell'Orso misses three point jump shot
5:36		KJ Adams defensive rebound
5:36		Carter Bryant personal foul (KJ Adams draws the foul)
5:36	+1	KJ Adams makes regular free throw 1 of 2	29-35
5:36		KJ Adams misses regular free throw 2 of 2
5:36		Dajuan Harris Jr. offensive rebound
5:28	+3	Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot (Hunter Dickinson assists)	32-35
5:08	+3	Jaden Bradley makes three point jump shot (Caleb Love assists)	32-38
4:57		KJ Adams misses two point layup
4:55		Tobe Awaka defensive rebound
4:49		Anthony Dell'Orso misses two point layup
4:48		KJ Adams defensive rebound
4:26		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
4:24		Jaden Bradley defensive rebound
4:10		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
4:08		KJ Adams defensive rebound
4:03		Tobe Awaka personal foul (KJ Adams draws the foul)
4:03		KJ Adams misses regular free throw 1 of 2
4:03	+1	KJ Adams makes regular free throw 2 of 2	33-38
3:51		Henri Veesaar misses two point jump shot
3:49		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
3:24	+2	Dajuan Harris Jr. makes two point jump shot	35-38
3:11		Caleb Love turnover (lost ball) (Hunter Dickinson steals)
3:05		Hunter Dickinson misses two point dunk
3:03		Trey Townsend defensive rebound
2:48		Trey Townsend misses three point jump shot
2:46		Zeke Mayo defensive rebound
2:43		TV timeout
2:34		Hunter Dickinson offensive foul
2:34		Hunter Dickinson turnover (offensive foul)
2:11		KJ Adams shooting foul (Trey Townsend draws the foul)
2:11	+1	Trey Townsend makes regular free throw 1 of 2	35-39
2:11	+1	Trey Townsend makes regular free throw 2 of 2	35-40
1:56		KJ Adams misses two point layup
1:54		KJ Adams offensive rebound
1:54		Trey Townsend personal foul (KJ Adams draws the foul)
1:54	+1	KJ Adams makes regular free throw 1 of 2	36-40
1:54	+1	KJ Adams makes regular free throw 2 of 2	37-40
1:39		KJ Lewis misses two point jump shot
1:37		KJ Lewis offensive rebound
1:33		Hunter Dickinson blocks KJ Lewis's two point layup
1:31		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
1:18		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
1:16		Hunter Dickinson offensive rebound
1:09		Hunter Dickinson misses two point jump shot
1:07		Caleb Love defensive rebound
0:55	+3	Henri Veesaar makes three point jump shot (Caleb Love assists)	37-43
0:43		Dajuan Harris Jr. misses two point layup
0:42		Hunter Dickinson offensive rebound
0:42		Hunter Dickinson misses two point dunk
0:40		Wildcats defensive rebound
0:40		Wildcats 30 second timeout
0:30	+2	Caleb Love makes two point layup	37-45
0:03		Hunter Dickinson misses two point jump shot
0:00		Jayhawks offensive rebound
0:00		End of period

2nd Half
KAN
Jayhawks
40
ARIZ
Wildcats
43

Time		Play	Score
19:44	+2	Trey Townsend makes two point layup	37-47
19:13	+2	Hunter Dickinson makes two point layup (KJ Adams assists)	39-47
19:13		Tobe Awaka shooting foul (Hunter Dickinson draws the foul)
19:13	+1	Hunter Dickinson makes regular free throw 1 of 1	40-47
19:00		Anthony Dell'Orso misses three point jump shot
18:58		Tobe Awaka offensive rebound
18:50	+2	Anthony Dell'Orso makes two point layup (Jaden Bradley assists)	40-49
18:31	+2	Hunter Dickinson makes two point layup (KJ Adams assists)	42-49
18:18		Tobe Awaka turnover (lost ball) (Zeke Mayo steals)
18:13		Dajuan Harris Jr. misses two point layup
18:11		Anthony Dell'Orso defensive rebound
18:06		Anthony Dell'Orso offensive foul
18:06		Anthony Dell'Orso turnover (offensive foul)
17:51		Anthony Dell'Orso personal foul (Rylan Griffen draws the foul)
17:43	+2	Hunter Dickinson makes two point jump shot (Zeke Mayo assists)	44-49
17:13		KJ Adams shooting foul (Trey Townsend draws the foul)
17:13	+1	Trey Townsend makes regular free throw 1 of 2	44-50
17:13		Trey Townsend misses regular free throw 2 of 2
17:13		Rylan Griffen defensive rebound
16:44		Hunter Dickinson misses three point jump shot
16:42		Caleb Love defensive rebound
16:31		Jaden Bradley misses two point jump shot
16:29		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
16:25		Rylan Griffen misses three point jump shot
16:23		KJ Adams offensive rebound
16:19	+3	Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot (KJ Adams assists)	47-50
15:58		Henri Veesaar misses three point jump shot
15:56		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
15:43	+3	Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot	50-50
15:22		Jaden Bradley misses three point jump shot
15:20		Trey Townsend offensive rebound
15:18	+2	Trey Townsend makes two point tip layup	50-52
14:56		Rylan Griffen misses two point layup
14:54		Anthony Dell'Orso defensive rebound
14:53		Anthony Dell'Orso turnover (out of bounds)
14:53		TV timeout
14:41		Zeke Mayo misses two point jump shot
14:39		KJ Lewis defensive rebound
14:33	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point layup	50-54
14:15		AJ Storr misses three point jump shot
14:13		Flory Bidunga offensive rebound
14:03	+3	Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot	53-54
13:36		Carter Bryant misses three point jump shot
13:34		Wildcats offensive rebound
13:25		Carter Bryant misses three point jump shot
13:23		Dajuan Harris Jr. defensive rebound
13:03		AJ Storr turnover (lost ball) (Anthony Dell'Orso steals)
13:00		KJ Lewis turnover (out of bounds)
12:49		KJ Adams turnover (lost ball) (Tobe Awaka steals)
12:40		Carter Bryant misses two point jump shot
12:38		Zeke Mayo defensive rebound
12:30	+3	Dajuan Harris Jr. makes three point jump shot	56-54
12:10	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point jump shot	56-56
11:37	+3	Zeke Mayo makes three point jump shot	59-56
11:14		AJ Storr shooting foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul)
11:14		TV timeout
11:14	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	59-57
11:14	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	59-58
11:03		AJ Storr turnover (bad pass)
10:53	+3	Caleb Love makes three point jump shot (KJ Lewis assists)	59-61
10:16		Carter Bryant blocks KJ Adams's two point jump shot
10:14		KJ Lewis defensive rebound
10:08		KJ Lewis misses two point jump shot
10:06		Flory Bidunga defensive rebound
10:00		KJ Lewis personal foul
9:46	+2	Flory Bidunga makes two point jump shot	61-61
9:20		KJ Lewis misses two point layup
9:18		Henri Veesaar offensive rebound
9:17		Henri Veesaar misses two point jump shot
9:15		Hunter Dickinson defensive rebound
9:10		Zeke Mayo turnover (lost ball) (KJ Lewis steals)
9:10		Zeke Mayo personal foul
9:10		Caleb Love misses three point jump shot
9:08		Flory Bidunga defensive rebound
8:44	+2	Rylan Griffen makes two point jump shot	63-61
8:29	+2	Trey Townsend makes two point dunk (Henri Veesaar assists)	63-63
8:12		David Coit misses three point jump shot
8:10		Carter Bryant defensive rebound
7:48	+2	Trey Townsend makes two point layup	63-65
7:48		Flory Bidunga shooting foul (Trey Townsend draws the foul)
7:48		TV timeout
7:48	+1	Trey Townsend makes regular free throw 1 of 1	63-66
7:29	+2	Hunter Dickinson makes two point dunk (Dajuan Harris Jr. assists)	65-66
7:02		Caleb Love misses two point layup
7:00		Henri Veesaar offensive rebound
6:58	+2	Henri Veesaar makes two point layup	65-68
6:37	+2	KJ Adams makes two point jump shot	67-68
6:13	+2	Henri Veesaar makes two point dunk (Caleb Love assists)	67-70
5:43	+2	Hunter Dickinson makes two point jump shot (KJ Adams assists)	69-70
5:33		Wildcats 30 second timeout
5:33		TV timeout
5:22		Jaden Bradley turnover (bad pass) (Dajuan Harris Jr. steals)
5:17		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
5:15		Carter Bryant defensive rebound
5:02	+2	Henri Veesaar makes two point layup	69-72
5:02		Hunter Dickinson shooting foul (Henri Veesaar draws the foul)
5:02	+1	Henri Veesaar makes regular free throw 1 of 1	69-73
4:36		Hunter Dickinson misses two point jump shot
4:34		Caleb Love defensive rebound
4:22		Rylan Griffen shooting foul (Carter Bryant draws the foul)
4:22		Jayhawks 30 second timeout
4:22		TV timeout
4:22	+1	Carter Bryant makes regular free throw 1 of 2	69-74
4:22		Carter Bryant misses regular free throw 2 of 2
4:22		KJ Adams defensive rebound
4:06		Zeke Mayo turnover (lost ball) (KJ Lewis steals)
4:01	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point layup	69-76
3:48		Zeke Mayo turnover (out of bounds)
3:32		Henri Veesaar turnover (lost ball) (KJ Adams steals)
3:27		Carter Bryant blocks Dajuan Harris Jr.'s two point layup
3:27		Jayhawks offensive rebound
3:24	+3	Dajuan Harris Jr. makes three point jump shot	72-76
3:21		Jayhawks 30 second timeout
3:07	+2	Trey Townsend makes two point layup (Caleb Love assists)	72-78
2:49		Henri Veesaar personal foul (Hunter Dickinson draws the foul)
2:34		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
2:32		Jaden Bradley defensive rebound
2:07		Hunter Dickinson shooting foul (Henri Veesaar draws the foul)
2:07	+1	Henri Veesaar makes regular free throw 1 of 2	72-79
2:07	+1	Henri Veesaar makes regular free throw 2 of 2	72-80
1:58		Zeke Mayo misses three point jump shot
1:56		Jaden Bradley defensive rebound
1:42		Hunter Dickinson blocks Jaden Bradley's two point layup
1:40		KJ Lewis offensive rebound
1:37	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point tip layup	72-82
1:25		Hunter Dickinson misses three point jump shot
1:23		KJ Lewis defensive rebound
1:19		KJ Adams personal foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul)
1:19		KJ Lewis misses regular free throw 1 of 1
1:19		Flory Bidunga defensive rebound
1:10	+3	David Coit makes three point jump shot (Zeke Mayo assists)	75-82
1:01		Wildcats 30 second timeout
0:48		Flory Bidunga personal foul (KJ Lewis draws the foul)
0:48	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 1 of 2	75-83
0:48	+1	KJ Lewis makes regular free throw 2 of 2	75-84
0:39		KJ Lewis personal foul (Zeke Mayo draws the foul)
0:34		David Coit misses three point jump shot
0:32		Carter Bryant defensive rebound
0:29		KJ Adams personal foul (Caleb Love draws the foul)
0:29	+1	Caleb Love makes regular free throw 1 of 2	75-85
0:29	+1	Caleb Love makes regular free throw 2 of 2	75-86
0:21		Rakease Passmore turnover (bad pass) (KJ Lewis steals)
0:17	+2	KJ Lewis makes two point layup	75-88
0:13	+2	Zeke Mayo makes two point layup	77-88
0:00		End of period

+ 2

Zeke Mayo makes two point layup