The Lowdown

The short turnaround appeared to have no effect Monday as Iowa State dominated Oklahoma in a battle between third place Big 12 teams.

The Cyclones (16-6, 6-3 Big 12) beat the Sooners (14-7, 5-4) 83-64 for their second victory in three days after they beat Baylor on Saturday. The win gave Iowa State sole possession of third place in the conference, at least until Big 12 play resumes Wednesday.

After going just 4-of-24 from beyond the arc Saturday — including no 3s in the first half — the Cyclones made 11 3-pointers on Monday, with eight in the first half alone. Iowa State led by 13 points at halftime.

Six different ISU players made 3-pointers and the team was led by Will Clyburn, who scored 19 points. Chris Babb and Melvin Ejim both added 12 points for the Cyclones in the win. 

Turning Point

With 11:04 remaining in the first half, the Cyclones led the Sooners 22-17 before guard Tyrus McGee hit a 3-pointer to spark a run. In the next four minutes Iowa State made two more 3s — part of eight total in the first half — to go on a 13-5 run that extended the team’s lead to 35-22. 

Iowa State also started the second half on a 12-2 run during the first five-plus minutes to extend its lead to 56-33 with just less than 15 minutes remaining in the game. 

X Factor

Will Clyburn — On the same day he was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the third time this season, Clyburn again led the Cyclones to a victory with efficient shooting. Clyburn scored 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and added five rebounds. 

Clyburn has now scored at least 10 points in 10 consecutive games for the Cyclones.

By the Numbers

6 — Iowa State had six blocks in the win, with three each from Percy Gibson and Anthony Booker. Entering the game, the Cyclones had 11 blocks in the first eight Big 12 games combined. 

20 — The winning streak at Hilton Coliseum reached 20 consecutive games for Iowa State with the victory Monday. The streak is currently the seventh-longest active streak in Division I basketball. 

11 — Iowa State went 11-of-27 on 3-pointers and made eight of them in the first half. The Cyclones have made at least 10 3-pointers in 11 games this season. 

Quotables

“Iowa State played Saturday after we did — of course they felt better after their game and they didn’t travel. But no, [fatigue] was not a factor at all. We have no excuses for it, they whipped us in every way.” — OU coach Lon Kruger on if fatigue was a factor in the game after the Sooners traveled on short rest.

“We have shooters on this team and good shooters are going to keep shooting. Your shot’s not going to fall every game, it’s just ups and downs.” — ISU guard Will Clyburn on the Cyclones’ strong shooting night following an off-night against Baylor on Saturday.

“The fan support we have with the student section as well as the other fans, it’s hard to win here. When we’ve been playing the way we’ve been playing, and we get our fans behind us and go on our runs, we definitely have one of the best fan bases in the country as far as home court advantage.” — ISU guard Chris Babb on the environment at Iowa State’s 20-game home winning streak.

“They gave us very important minutes. Percy really bodied up and was straight-up-and-down on those shots. And then Booker for not playing for a couple of games, I thought he had a great mentality going in there.” — ISU coach Fred Hoiberg on the play of Percy Gibson and Anthony Booker. 

“For us to put in the game plan in one-and-a-half days and for the guys to go out and execute it the way that we did, I thought was outstanding. I gave our guys a lot of credit after bounding back after a huge win against Baylor when we didn’t shoot the ball great.” — Hoiberg on his team’s performance on a short turnaround from Saturday’s game.