Georges Niang said he felt pretty bad in his postgame news conference.

Niang recalled a missed layup at the end of Iowa State’s 82-62 win against Texas on Saturday that would’ve given Korie Lucious his 10th assist of the game and a chance at a double-double.

“I felt bad because I missed the layup that didn’t give Korie his 10th assist, but maybe I’ll make the next 10,” Niang said.

That was about all he had to feel bad about.

Niang had a career-high 18 points on only seven shots, while adding two boards, two assists and a steal.

With this only being the true freshman’s second game against Big 12 competition, ISU coach Fred Hoiberg couldn’t say enough about his team’s leading scorer.

“His overall efficiency every time he steps on the floor is as good as I’ve seen,” Hoiberg said. “I saw that all the way back when I saw him play AAU basketball. He’s as efficient of a player as you’re ever going to see.”

Lucious wasn’t bitter about Niang missing the layup. Iowa State’s point guard had a toothy grin after one his most efficient games of the season against the Longhorns.

Lucious finished with a pedestrian 10 points, but that came from only five shots along with nine assists. Lucious is now No. 4 in the Big 12 in assists.

One example of a play that displayed Lucious’ growth as of late came late in the first half.

Lucious dribbled down toward the left block and into two big defenders. Instead of trying to force a layup, he gathered himself back toward the corner and canned a 3-pointer.

“That’s one where I was saying ‘No, no, no — good shot,’” Hoiberg said. “I’d rather have him shoot that shot from the outside rather than trying to score against the bigs, which is what he was doing earlier in the year.”

At key moments throughout the game, Iowa State’s Tyrus McGee sparked runs from the Cyclone offense.

With 9:46 left in the first half, McGee hit consecutive 3-pointers to extend the lead to 27-15, spurring a timeout by UT coach Rick Barnes.

Then with 11:09 left in the second half, Texas had brought the deficit back to single digits as Iowa State was struggling on offense.

McGee hit another 3-pointer, followed by hitting all three free throws on a fouled 3-point attempt. His six-straight points were the start of a 17-4 run that put the game out of reach.

McGee had 15 points on the day, 12 coming from behind the arc and three coming from the charity stripe.

McGee is currently leading the Big 12 in 3-pointers made with 41, while also leading 3-point percentage with 48 percent.

With the win, Iowa State moves to a 1-1 start in the Big 12, coming one banked shot away from starting 2-0.

After the game, Barnes said he believed this ISU team was better than last year’s team, which went to the second round of the NCAA tournament after beating defending champion UConn in the first round and losing to eventual national champion Kentucky.

Hoiberg appreciated the compliment, saying he becomes more excited about this team with every practice.

“That’s a heck of a compliment coming from a great coach,” Hoiberg said. “I love these guys; I love how hard they go at it; I love their approach in practice every day.

“I think it’s still yet to be seen, but hopefully we can continue to get better. I love what I’ve seen in these first two games. If we play like we did in Lawrence and play like we did today, we’re going to have a chance to be a heck of a team.”