After sticking to what has fueled their offense all season, the No. 10 Cyclones’ defensive pressure proved to be too much for Cincinnati to handle as Iowa State cruised to a 68-59 win on the road Tuesday night.
Due to constant pressure on the ball in both halves, Iowa State forced the Bearcats into continuous mistakes and took care of business on the road for the second straight time. While the first half had its moments of a classic Big 12 dogfight, the Cyclones ran away with the game in the second half thanks to their usual pesky defense.
Cyclones force mistakes, start slow on the other side
Iowa State opened up the game doing what it does best: forcing turnovers. Cincinnati started the game with turnovers on its first three possessions of the game and did not get on the board until about 2:30 in.
Even then, the Bearcats failed to stop the bleeding but did not fall too far behind thanks to some poor shooting from the Cyclones out of the gate.
Although Cincinnati had six turnovers in the first four minutes, Iowa State failed to capitalize on its defensive efforts on the other side and shot 3-for-8 through five minutes of action.
Iowa State could not find its shots through the first 10 minutes of the game, and its small lead, which it desperately held on to, soon faded away.
While Cincinnati still could not consistently take care of the ball, the Cyclones’ poor shooting eventually caught up to them. The Bearcats took their first lead of the game halfway through the opening half at 13-12, and the Cyclones looked like they were about to be on the ropes.
Tamin Lipsey then took control of the Cyclones’ offense and went on a nine-point scoring run as they traded shots with the Bearcats for a handful of minutes.
Despite Cincinnati turning the ball over nearly every other possession, the Cyclones could not set up shots from outside and relied on scoring in the paint. They finished the initial 20 minutes with 20 points in the paint, with two of their 10 shots from 3-point land going through the net.
Neither team put together sizeable runs for much of the first half until the Cyclones scored 11 straight points in the closing minutes to jump out to their largest lead of the game. Iowa State connected on five of its last seven shots of the opening half and headed into halftime with a 34-26 lead.
Although they were in control of the game going into the break, the Cyclones wasted multiple opportunities in the first half to jump ahead even further. Cincinnati finished the first 20 minutes with 14 turnovers, which Iowa State scored 14 points off of.
Iowa State stays in control for commanding win
Iowa State started the second half 3-for-3 from the field and picked up right where it left off, forcing a pair of turnovers on the Bearcats’ first two possessions. The Cyclones then led by 15.
Similar to the first half, the Bearcats did not score in the closing half until the 17:42 mark. Along with Cincinnati’s sloppy ball handling, Iowa State closed out any options for the Bearcats and forced Cincinnati into six turnovers four minutes into the second half.
The Cyclones began to control the pace of the game in the second half, as even when the Bearcats connected on shots, Iowa State was quick to answer. Iowa State kept Cincinnati from getting into a groove, constantly forcing the Bearcats into offensive mistakes.
Outside of staying true to their defense, the Cyclones also stayed efficient on offense to double down on halting a possible comeback from the Bearcats. Iowa State shot 46% from the field in the second half to finish the game 28-for-59 from the field.
Even with Cincinnati making the game slightly interesting with some shots falling in the waning minutes of the second half, Iowa State kept its composure and did not let its energetic runs go to waste.
As for the final defensive efforts, Iowa State finished the game with 25 forced turnovers, which it scored 26 points off of.
The Joneses deliver
The efforts of Robert Jones and Curtis Jones on both sides of the court heavily contributed to the Cyclones’ sixth win in their last seven games. The forward and guard duo combined for 27 points and were two of the four Cyclones that finished with double-digit points against the Bearcats.
Whether it was sticking to any Cincinnati player on the outside, hitting a big shot or poking a ball loose, Curtis Jones constantly made plays for Iowa State. He has stepped up for the Cyclones recently and has averaged 14.2 points per game over the last seven games.
The senior guard shot 6-for-10 from the field Tuesday night with a trio of threes, four rebounds and a steal.
Robert Jones has gone pretty quiet on the stat sheet since the start of Big 12 play and has seen a drop in his scoring and defensive production. The senior forward was a brick wall in the paint whenever the Bearcats’ powerful forwards would challenge him and was noticeably fighting for more rebounds on defense.
He finished the game with his second-most rebounds in Big 12 play (6) and outmuscled several bigger and taller defenders. Robert Jones also tied his season high in points in Big 12 play (12) as he took smart shots inside and finished the night 6-for-7 from the field.
