Keshon Gilbert wrapped up a spectacular Big 12 Tournament for Iowa State with 16 points, and the seventh-ranked Cyclones blitzed No. 1 Houston to begin the second half Saturday night, allowing them to roll to a 69-41 win and their sixth championship in six appearances in the title game.
Milan Momcilovic had 18 points and Hason Ward scored 13 for the Cyclones (27-7), who have beaten five different programs to raise the trophy, including Oklahoma, which at the time was led by current Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson.
He probably felt even worse than he did in 2000. Iowa State turned a 30-23 lead at halftime into the kind of blowout Sampson has rarely experienced with an 18-3 run to start the second half. That gave the thousands of Cyclones fans that paint Kansas City red and yellow every March plenty of reasons to stand on their feet and roar their approval.