What we all witnessed on Sunday afternoon was vintage Iowa State basketball.

My, how times have changed.

The Cyclones’ 52-50 victory over Kansas at Hilton Coliseum represented everything the team has striven for this year: defense, clutch shooting and a limited amount of mistakes.

Anyone else remember the days of Johnny Orr’s squad running the floor, shooting three’s and wreaking havoc upon the opposing defense?

With the arrival of Tim Floyd came a new philosophy. The Hilton fans would no longer be treated to 90-84 tilts on a regular basis.

Instead, the focus changed to defense and rebounding, and the results were generally pleasing, although this style of play did not necessarily endear itself to the Cyclone faithful.

Larry Eustachy’s reputation as a coach included a style of play that combined Orr’s run-and-gun with Floyd’s tough as nails approach.

Because the Cyclones do not currently have the weapons to run the floor with many teams, the style of play has changed very little from a year ago.

ISU has had many games this year that have gotten away from them down the stretch because of lack of execution.

It was this very thing that allowed them to beat the Jayhawks for the first time since winning the Big Eight Tournament in 1996 and in front of a partisan crowd for the first time since beating KU in 1995.

First, you can’t say enough about the Cyclones defense. They held the Jayhawks scoreless for an amazing 6:58 during the second half.

This allowed the prodding ISU offense to mount a comeback that included a 14-2 run.

The squad as a whole worked well on the defensive side of the ball, but there were a few standout performers.

The much-maligned Tony Rampton played only 10 minutes, but provided very solid work on Eric Chenowith. The sophomore pivot man had scored a combined 45 points in his last two games.

Thanks to Rampton and the rest of the Cyclones, Chenowith scored only two of his eight points in the second half.

And it was the 7′ center who had to throw up a 25′ jump shot with 16 seconds left and his squad trailing by two points.

Stevie Johnson continued to be a monster on the boards as he contributed nine of his 12 rebounds on the defensive end. Along with the rebounds, Johnson added three steals to the ISU cause.

And as far as execution goes, does it get any better than the pick-and-roll ending in a Marcus Fizer dunk that gave the Cyclones their first lead of the game with :54 left to play?

The clutch shooting was provided in spades as well.

Martin Rancik’s trio of three-pointers in the second half were vital to the cause.

Michael Nurse drained two free throws with 1:42 to tie the game at 50, and then came the Fizer dunk that would provide the final margin.

Despite playing a slow-down style of ball, the Cyclones have at times struggled with turning the ball over.

Not Sunday.

ISU turned it over only seven times, which was the second-lowest total of the season.

They made precious few mistakes down the stretch, which allowed them to claim victory despite missing 34 of their 54 shots.

Whether this team can now carry the momentum established by today’s win into the Big 12 tournament and possibly the NIT remains to be seen, but Sunday provided a sound blueprint for the success of this year’s Cyclones.

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Josh Flickinger is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Rockford, Ill.