KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Thanks in large part to backup forward Mitch Lightfoot, No. 6-ranked Kansas has advanced to the finals of the Big 12 tournament for the first time since 2019.
The Jayhawks, who claimed their last postseason league crown in 2018, followed a quarterfinal rout of West Virginia with a 75-62 victory over TCU in Friday’s semifinals at T-Mobile Center.
Lightfoot, a sixth-year forward, on Friday scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting with five rebounds, two steals and two blocks for KU (27-6), which will play either Oklahoma or Texas Tech in Saturday’s 5 p.m. final.