Fans of No. 9 Kansas can thank Iowa State for launching their best run of form all season, when the Jayhawks took down the then-No. 2 Cyclones in their massive 84-63 win earlier this season, which then sparked an eight-game winning run.
Yet in poetic fashion, the same way that streak began was the same way it ended as the Jayhawks inversely got handled away from home and inside Hilton Coliseum in a 74-56 loss to the No. 5 Cyclones Saturday afternoon.
“We were trying to survive”
“They had so much pressure on the ball, even when guys were open, we didn't think about passing to them, 'cause we were trying to survive, so give them credit,” quoted head coach Bill Self following a loss where the Jayhawks gave away 10 first half turnovers to a suffocating Iowa State defense which hardly let any KU player land a foot before being swarmed.
It is one thing to play close man-to-man defense; it is another to be constantly forcing the opposition into a corner before initiating a trap that stifles every bit of KU offensive momentum.
In the first 20 minutes alone, the Jayhawks gave up 11 points off turnovers, and in a game where neither side reached 40 points during the first half, those 11 points helped propel Iowa State to a 37-27 lead heading into the break.
Things hardly got better in the final period for KU as Kansas notched an ugly 9-29 mark from the field, all while Iowa State amped up the heat and shot 13-26 from the field with 24 points coming from beyond the arc.
“That game today, it mirrored the game in Lawrence. You know, it was us in Lawrence doing that. Today, it was them doing that and we didn't handle it very well at all."
A ‘mirrored’ performance
When the two sides met in mid-January, it was the Jayhawks who capitalized with 17 points off turnovers and an outrageous 51% mark from the field, which constantly kept the then-undefeated Cyclones at arm's length.
“Iowa State's got really good players out there on the court. That's what makes it hard,” quoted the two-time national title-winning coach.
T.J. Otzelberger’s team finished with five double-digit scorers in Blake Buchanan (11), Joshua Jefferson (11), Milan Momcilovic (18), Tamin Lipsey (11), and Jamarion Bateman (11). That group combined for 22-46 from the field.
There is little time to rest for the Jayhawks as up next is the Oklahoma State Cowboys this Wednesday at 8 p.m. CT with streaming available on Peacock.
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