Arizona survives Iowa State on last-second jumper, advances to Big 12 Tournament final

Blair Kerkhoff, The Kansas City Star on Mar 13, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The first Big 12 Tournament semifinal delivered the madness.

Arizona outlasted Iowa State, 82-80, on Jaden Bradley’s buzzer-beating 15-footer. The Big 12 Player of the Year hit the game-winner from the right side — while also falling to his right.

The horn sounded as the ball approached the hoop and marked the second huge shot from Bradley on an otherwise quiet night for the senior guard. His jumper with 45 seconds remaining had given the Wildcats an 80-77 lead.

But Iowa State point guard Tamin Lipsey, who had missed nine of his first 10 shots, buried a wing 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to make it 80-80.

Arizona didn’t take a timeout. The Wildcats got the ball into Bradley’s hands and he finished the game.

The teams traded blows throughout the night, but especially down the stretch. Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic hit three triples in the final 3:42. He made them in the final 1:23 of the first half, including a buzzer beater, to finish with 28 points.

But his equal was Arizona’s Anthony Dell’Orso. He doesn’t start, but he got the Wildcats going with his shooting after Iowa State had jumped to a 14-2 lead. And he didn’t let up, finishing with 26 points.

Second-ranked Arizona, a sure-bet No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament when the bracket is revealed on Sunday, will play in the league championship game for the second straight year. The Wildcats (31-2) fell to Houston in last year’s title game.

Iowa State (27-7) fell short in its bid for a seventh Big 12 Tournament title.