It was a less-than-happy group at the podium for the postgame press conference on Wednesday, even after No. 19 Iowa State took care of Arkansas Pine-Bluff by 19 points.

Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger began, and really preached, dissatisfaction in how the Cyclones performed in their seventh win of the season on Wednesday.

“The standard that we have for our program defensively is at a much higher level than to allow a team to score 42 points on our court in the second half where we foul 13 times and they shoot 48 percent,” Otzelberger said, visibly frustrated.

And his players felt the same.

Even after improving to 7-0, thanks to another efficient scoring night from Izaiah Brockington and rock-solid rebounding, there’s work to be done for Iowa State.

If it ain’t broke, still fix it

The Cyclones trailed the first 10 minutes of the first half against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, struggling to find buckets.

Iowa State started 5-22 from the field, but after Tre Jackson passed the ball off to Brockington for a break-away dunk, the Cyclones led 11-9 and never trailed again.

However, Iowa State walked into halftime shooting 36 percent from the field and converting on four three-pointers. Not exactly a pretty start.

Otzelberger was happy his team finished the job and came out with a win, but his standards for Iowa State basketball are higher than what he felt like his group displayed in the tail-end of the first half and the last 10 minutes of the second.

“Things weren’t going exactly how we had hoped or scripted offensively — and you could sense that,” Otzelberger said postgame. “I didn’t like our body language. It needs to be better. We just need to be a more stubborn, tough team every single possession and not play the scoreboard. So that was disappointing.”

The Cyclones were caught going under ball screens on multiple occasions in the second half against the Golden Lions, giving shooters confidence. That confidence gave Pine-Bluff the hot-hand, scoring 42 points on 48 percent shooting in the second half.

The 42 second-half points is the second-most an opponent has scored in the second half against the Cyclones this season.

“We have a standard that we have to uphold each day,” Jackson said. “That’s the reason we’re at this point we’re at now — those standards, those habits.”

Iowa State shot under 45 percent in a game for the third time this season, giving more credence to Iowa State’s focus on defense-first basketball. The Cyclones need stops — and for those stops to turn into points in transition. Those came in short-spurts on Wednesday, with the Cyclones putting up just four fast-break points in the win.

The defensive toughness is a must-have for this team, and Brockington — who led the Cyclones with 23 points — knows it starts with the daily habits built on the practice court.

That’s where the disappointment comes from first.

“It just stems from the fact that we know we didn’t play our best on either end really,” Brockington said.

Tre Jackson steadies the waters

Amongst the sense of underachievement, Iowa State had a few highlights in the win. Tre Jackson was one of them.

Jackson matched a season-high with 12 points, along with matching a career-high three steals. And with true freshman Tyrese Hunter having an off-night on the offensive end, shooting 2-8 from the field, including 0-4 from three in his 26 minutes, Jackson’s presence was needed.

The junior guard has been credited by Otzelberger with being a steadying force off the bench for Iowa State, and Wednesday was another example.

“I thought he was a bright-spot for us,” Otzelberger said.

On the attack

The Cyclones are still looking for consistent shooting from three, and Wednesday was another sluggish night from distance. Iowa State ended under 32 percent from three for the game, but made up for it by attacking the zone of Pine-Bluff and drawing contact near the basket.

Iowa State finished 16-20 from the free-throw line Wednesday after a 22-33 showing from the charity stripe against then-No. 9 Memphis in Brooklyn.

Wednesday was the first time all season the Cyclones ended with back-to-back 20 or more trips to the free-throw line.

George Conditt led the team at the line, going 5-5. Gabe Kalscheur was right behind Conditt with his 3-4 statline from the foul line.

The aggressive nature is one Otzelberger and his team have tried to buy into in recent weeks, and it’s paid off after scoring 28+ points in the paint in consecutive games.