KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Elijah Malone scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, helping No. 16 seed Colorado deal No. 8 seed West Virginia’s at-large NCAA Tournament hopes a massive blow with a 67-60 victory in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday.
RJ Smith added 13 points for the plucky and persistent Buffaloes (14-19), who beat TCU in the opening round and now get a shot at second-ranked Houston — the top seed in the tournament — in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
The Mountaineers (19-13) were leading 46-37 with under 10 minutes to go when they turned it over on seven straight possessions. Colorado seized the momentum and ran off 15 points to take a 52-46 lead with 5 1/2 minutes left.
West Virginia fought back to within 56-53 with 2:13 left, but Malone scored again in the paint and Smith buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Buffaloes a cushion they were able to hold until the finish.
Javon Small had 23 points to lead the Mountaineers, who began the day No. 41 in the NET rankings, thanks in large part to their strong schedule. They have six Quad 1 wins, which is an important factor considered by the NCAA selection committee.
Now, the Mountaineers have a long and tense wait for Selection Sunday.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle has made it clear he intends to return next season, but he certainly doesn’t appear to be done with this season, either. There has never been a No. 16 seed in the Big 12 Tournament so his guys are making history.
West Virginia will rue the 5-minute stretch in the second half when it continually turned the ball over. Several of them came as Colorado slapped on a full-court press, but others were silly half-court mistakes.
Colorado’s second-half run was the difference in the game.
The Buffaloes were 18 of 22 from the foul line, including Andrej Jakimovski’s clinchers with 10 seconds to go.
The Buffaloes play the Cougars on Thursday.
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