Ames, Iowa — Iowa State was in no mood to celebrate a second straight Big 12 championship.
The eighth-ranked Cyclones received 22 points from Martin Rancik and beat Texas Tech, 80-63, Wednesday night to clinch at least a tie for the title. But coach Larry Eustachy thought it was a poor effort, especially in the first half, and his players agreed.
"We are too inconsistent," Rancik said. "If we want to do what we're trying to do later on in the season, we can't be like this. It's going to catch up with us and we're going to be upset."
Iowa State (24-4, 12-3) won the title outright last season and can do it again by beating Nebraska at home in its regular-season finale on Saturday.
"We've got a tough, tough game on Saturday," Rancik said. "If we win, then we can celebrate."
Texas Tech (9-17, 3-12) traded baskets with Iowa State much of the first half before the Cyclones scored the final 10 points of the half to open a 44-34 lead.
Iowa State then blew it open with a 19-4 second-half run and won for the 35th straight time at home.
"We should have come out of the gate and popped and played 40 minutes and we didn't," Eustachy said. "It's a spurty team and spurty teams get beat when they finally meet their challenge.
"Our team is not where it has to be to beat anybody really good. I really mean that. The commitment to defending is zero."
Tyray Pearson added 12 points for Iowa State on 6-for-7 shooting, while Jake Sullivan scored 11 points and Jamaal Tinsley had 10 points and 12 assists. Cliff Owens led Texas Tech with 16 points and Jamal Brown scored 13 12 in the first half.
Texas Tech cooled off after shooting 56 percent in the first half and lost for the 10th time in 11 games.
"Our guys competed hard. We're just not mature enough to understand how to play a quality team like this," Texas Tech coach James Dickey said. "This is one of the great crowds in college basketball. What happens when you have a crowd like that is the home team feeds off of it."
Iowa State, leading the nation in three-point shooting, missed its first seven from long range and finished 4-for-16 from beyond the arc. But Rancik and Pearson scored consistently in the lane and the Cyclones shot 55 percent overall.
"We did a poor job of making them work on offense," Owens said. "Iowa State has one of the best crowds and you really have to put them back on defense, run the clock and try to put fans back in their seats and we just didn't do that."
No. 17 Oklahoma 86, Colorado 67
Norman, Okla. Nolan Johnson tied his career-high with 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and had a hand in a big second-half run that helped carry No. 17 Oklahoma. The Sooners (22-6, 11-4 Big 12) outscored Colorado 16-3 during a five-minute span to take control of the game, and went on to beat the Buffaloes for the 19th straight time in Norman.
Oklahoma State 71, Baylor 68
Stillwater, Okla. Victor Williams made two free throws with 9.3 seconds remaining as Oklahoma State, fighting for an NCAA tournament bid, held off Baylor for its fourth straight win.
The Cowboys (19-7, 10-5 Big 12) twice led by as many as 15 in the first half, but had to hang on to win. Baylor (16-10, 5-10) rallied to tie the score at 55, then nearly pulled off the victory after falling behind by eight with 21/2 minutes left.
Nebraska 97, Texas A&M 69
Lincoln, Neb. Kimani Ffriend scored a career-high 28 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as Nebraska beat Texas A&M. Nebraska's five seniors scored 74 of the team's season-high 97 points in their final regular-season home game.
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