Brandon Richardson scored 19 points and No. 12 seed Nebraska took command with an early 16-1 run and shocked No. 5 seed Missouri, 75-60, Wednesday in an opening-round upset at the Big 12 Conference tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
The underdog Cornhuskers (15-17), who had won just two of 16 Big 12 regular-season games, outrebounded, outshot and outhustled the team that had easily beaten them twice this year.
After Kim English pulled the Tigers (22-10) to 61-51 with two free throws with 4:01 to play, Richardson converted a long 3-pointer, drew a foul from Zaire Taylor and made the free throw for a four-point play that clinched it.
Laurence Bowers had 11 points for Missouri, the defending Big 12 tournament champ.
Big 12: Keiton Page scored 19 of his 24 points in a dominating first half, and Oklahoma State (22-9) withstood a brief rally in the season's third Bedlam game to beat Oklahoma (13-18), 81-67. Oklahoma (13-18), seeded 10th, played without leading scorer Willie Warren (ankle) and will miss the postseason a year after reaching an NCAA regional final. ... John Roberson scored 19 points, Nick Okorie added 18 and Texas Tech (17-14) overcame a sloppy start defensively to open the tournament with an 82-67 victory against Colorado (15-16).
Big Sky: Anthony Johnson scored 34 of his career-high 42 points in the second half, leading Montana (22-9) back from a 22-point deficit and into the NCAA tournament with a 66-65 victory Weber State (20-10) in the tournament championship in Ogden, Utah.
CUSA: Aubrey Coleman scored 29 points, three above his Division I-leading average, and Houston (16-15) rolled to a 93-80 victory against East Carolina (10-21) in the first round in Tulsa, Okla.
Mountain West: The Air Force Falcons (10-20) love play-in games. For the second year in a row, they won in the opening round of the tournament, beating Wyoming (10-21), 59-40, in Las Vegas.
Southwestern Athletic: Donald Qualls scored 20 points and eighth-seeded Grambling State (7-20) upset the No. 1 seed Jackson State (19-12) 65-57 in the quarterfinals in Bossier City, La.
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