The game plan was to stop Nebraska’s preseason All-Big 12 center Aleks Maric.

The Cyclones kept him in check for the first 20 minutes – holding the senior from Sydney, Australia, to just six points and three rebounds. Iowa State held him to eight points in the second half – 14 for the game – but rebounds were what killed the Cyclones.

Maric – who came in averaging 8.5 rebounds per game – tore the Cyclones up for a game-high 14 points, including five on the offensive glass, in a 64-56 Cornhusker win on Saturday in Lincoln, Neb.

Coach Greg McDermott said it was key to limit Maric but saw his Cyclones struggle to hold him off the boards and also give him some easy baskets.

“Some of it was offensive rebounds, where we just didn’t get into his lower body and he was able to get second opportunities, or we botched our screen on defense and were forced to help, and now he’s going to the board without anybody to help out – and that’s not the way to stop him,” McDermott said.

Jiri Hubalek was given the primary job of guarding Maric and held him in check for the first half. Hubalek spent large chunks of the second half on the bench, however, after picking up his third foul at the 13:34 mark and his fourth foul at the 7:00 mark.

“We had hoped we could get [Maric] in foul trouble and keep Jiri out of it. We felt really good about where he was, and then he got a couple fouls that were pretty cheap and he should know better,” McDermott said. “You don’t think it’s a big deal at the time, but when it’s [seven] minutes left and you’ve got your fourth, it becomes a big deal.”

Other than the foul trouble, McDermott said Hubalek played a good game – particularly when he came out with nine points in the first four minutes. Hubalek finished with a game-high 18 points.

As for his defense against Maric, Hubalek thought he played well but gave up too many easy points.

“I just tried to deny the ball from him,” Hubalek said. “He’s a big player, strong player. I thought I did a very good job for the most part. A couple times I made some mistakes and he got some easy baskets. He’s a good player, so it happens.”

With an increased defense on Maric, Husker guard Sek Henry was able to step up with 11 points, as was guard Ryan Anderson – something McDermott said the Cyclones couldn’t allow.

Henry said teams focusing on stopping their big man helps the rest of the Cornhuskers get open shots.

“I’ve been noticing lately that Al [Maric] has been getting double- and triple-teamed, and it’s crazy,” Henry said. “It’s hard for him to score if everyone is double- and triple-teaming him. If the wings and guards start being more aggressive, then there will be more looks for everyone.

“If Al kicks out, there will be wide open shots.”

It was a three by Anderson, as well as three jumpers by Henry down the stretch, that put the Huskers up 57-48 with 2:02 left and put the game out of reach for Iowa State.

Now, with a short break before Tuesday’s game with Texas A&M, Iowa State must turn their attention away from this loss, guard Bryan Petersen said.

“We’ve pretty much just got to learn as much as we can from this . You don’t want to totally forget about this, but learn from it – but we’ve really just kind of got to put it behind us and move on to Texas A&M, because they’re a really good team,” Petersen said.