It would have been hard for Hilton Coliseum to be louder than it was on Saturday afternoon. 

The Hilton crowd was nasty and loud, like many a Kansas game before. Threes were met with booming cheers, and calls that went against the Cyclones garnered cascades of boos.

The game itself, after a slow start, lived up to the expectation these two teams have garnered when they come together. And in the process, the Cyclones got a statement win just a week into Big 12 play, leaning on their defense and beating the Jayhawks 77-60.

The first four minutes were all about that aggressive defense — something coach Steve Prohm has been trying to drill into the Cyclones since he arrived from Murray State — and sloppiness on offense by both the Cyclones and the No. 5 Jayhawks.

In what became a theme throughout the game, Iowa State’s guards harried Kansas early and often, resulting in multiple deflections and transition opportunities for the Cyclones. Just when it seemed like Kansas was getting going and would take control of the game, a couple more turnovers would pop up, giving Iowa State more possessions and preventing the Jayhawks from having any offensive consistency. 

Prohm said the Cyclones paid great attention to detail.

“When you play Bill Self’s team, toughest team’s going to win, the more detailed teams are going to win,” Prohm said. 

The Jayhawks had more turnovers (14) than made baskets (12) in the first 20 minutes of play. Despite a plus-14 rebounding advantage, the Jayhawks were trailing by four.

One of the foremost disruptors was freshman guard Tyrese Haliburton, one of three Iowa State payers with two first-half steals. 

Prohm said Haliburton has an “infectious personality,” and it was on display in front of the raucous crowd on Saturday. 

Haliburton was animated all evening long, constantly pumping up the crowd and playing some of the best basketball of his young college career. His 30-foot 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds to play in the first half gave Iowa State its four-point cushion and brought Hilton to its feet. 

Haliburton credited his dad with building his swagger and confidence.

“My dad has a lot of faith in me,” Haliburton said. “I see an open look and I just let it go.”

Haliburton finished the game with 14 points, three assists and four steals. He, alongside veteran point guard Nick Weiler-Babb, caused numerous problems for the Kansas offense, with both recording four takeaways and a block. 

The Cyclones, building off of the turnovers, found a rhythm offensively in the second half and began to turn the screw on Kansas with 3-pointers and ball movement.

The Jayhawks came out flat, and Iowa State capitalized by building a lead it wouldn’t let slip under seven points for the final 13:53 of game action. 

Marial Shayok, the Cyclones’ leading scorer with 24 points, said the Cyclones prioritized Kansas forward Dedric Lawson on the defensive end of the floor.

“We wanted to make it tough for Lawson to catch the ball,” Shayok said. “We just helped each other and played with energy.”

The game turned into a rout late on, as Iowa State piled on the threes and — apart from a small stretch in the last five minutes — continued to make hay on the defensive end. Iowa State finished the game with 14 steals as a team and four blocks — and for the Jayhawks, the numbers were grim. 

Kansas coach Bill Self was less than pleased with his team’s performance, but gave praise to Iowa State’s backcourt.

“I don’t know if you guys noticed, but we really struggled with passing, dribbling and shooting,” Self said. “They manhandled us.

“Those guards — [Weiler-Babb], Haliburton, Wigginton and Shayok — those four guards can play for anybody in the country.”

Kansas had 24 turnovers, a number equaling the Jayhawks’ number of made field goals. A bulk of the turnovers came from the Jayhawks’ start trio (excluding the injured Udoka Azubuike), with Lawson (6), Lagerald Vick (7) and Devon Dotson (5) accounting for all but six of the team’s giveaways. 

Iowa State did all of this with its best player, Lindell Wigginton, coming off the bench and going 2-for-11 from the floor for eight points in his third game back from a foot injury.

Prohm said the Cyclones need to continue to be consistent defensively and crash the boards to get the most out of this group.

“If you’re gonna consistently win at a high level, you gotta be great on both ends of the floor,” Prohm said.