Colorado's Cory Higgins scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, and the Buffaloes beat Kansas State for the third time in three tries this season, winning 87-75 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament on Thursday at Sprint Center.

After scoring 16 points in the first half, Colorado leading scorer Alec Burks cooled off after halftime, but Higgins picked up the slack. The senior guard scored 10 straight Colorado points during one stretch in the second half to keep the Buffaloes in it, and Colorado hit 10 of 11 free throws down the stretch to pull away.

Burks finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, and Andre Roberson came off the bench to post a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds for Colorado, which shot 58 percent (29 of 50) and hit 6 of 9 from 3-point range.

The win likely locks up at least an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the Buffaloes (21-12), who advance to face top seed Kansas in the semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday.

Curtis Kelly had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Jacob Pullen had 18 points and seven assists for the Wildcats (22-10). Will Spradling added 14 points off the bench for Kansas State, which had won six straight since a 58-56 loss at Colorado on Feb. 12.