After an eight-day holiday break, No. 3 Iowa State traveled to Boulder, Colorado, to take on the Buffaloes to begin Big 12 conference play.

While these two teams met at the Maui Invitational on Nov. 27, that game did not count towards their conference records. However, it still allowed each team to familiarize themselves with their style of play before facing each other in late December.

That familiarization played a big factor in Monday night’s matchup, as the Cyclones pulled out a tough 79-69 win over Colorado to start Big 12 conference play 1-0.

Jefferson’s career-high eight steals help Cyclones force turnovers 

With Iowa State’s biggest strength coming from forcing turnovers, it was key for the Cyclones to force the Buffaloes into some unwanted situations early on.

Just like it did during the Thanksgiving break, Iowa State utilized its strengths to force Colorado into turnovers, as the Cyclones forced a total of 19, 12 of which came in the first half.

With these turnovers came the ability to put points on the board, as Iowa State scored 24 points off the 19 turnovers they forced on the Buffaloes.

While it wasn’t as good as when the Cyclones put up 37 points off Colorado’s turnovers in Maui, Iowa State still got the job done by keeping the pressure on all game long.

A big reason for the Cyclones’ success from the turnover margin was from junior forward Joshua Jefferson, who set a new career high in steals with eight.

The Saint Mary’s transfer had been known to be a Swiss Army knife for Iowa State, due to his ability to make plays happen on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.

That role came in handy yet again, as Jefferson forced five of his eight steals in the first half, and finished with 13 points on 50% field goal shooting with seven rebounds.

Jones leads Iowa State in scoring despite sluggish start

Another player who once again shined in the areas he usually does was senior guard Curtis Jones, as he led the Cyclones with 20 points off the bench with eight of his points coming from the free throw line.

But, Jones’ scoring did not come to him right away. He struggled throughout the majority of the first half, as he went 0-for-6 from the field and missed all three 3-point attempts in the first 17 minutes of play.

However, while Jones struggled to put the ball in the basket from the field, he still managed to make his minutes count. Jones converted on all four free throw attempts to avoid being shut out during this stretch.

It wasn’t until 2:44 on the clock that Jones finally found his shooting stride, when he cashed in on a long 3-point attempt to give him his first points other than the charity stripe.

Jones then followed with one final 3-pointer to end the half on a second-chance opportunity from the corner to give Iowa State a six-point lead heading into the half.

While the second half was much of the same for Jones, he still found ways to put points on the board for the Cyclones with an additional four points from the free throw line and added six points from the field to give him a total of 20 points for the game.

Chatfield provides spark off the bench with second-chance opportunities

One of the most underrated parts of a basketball game comes from the second-chance opportunities that are presented to the team on offense.

This aspect of the game was in favor of Iowa State Monday night, as the Cyclones outscored Colorado in that category 21-16.

But, one of the players on Iowa State that made this happen was redshirt senior forward Brandton Chatfield.

Mostly known for coming off the bench to relieve starting center Dishon Jackson, Chatfield did the same once again but had potentially one of his best games as a Cyclone.

In Monday night’s game, Chatfield scored a season-high nine points on 3-of-4 shooting. Three points came from the free throw line on seven attempts, and he added seven rebounds and two blocks.

However, Chatfield’s biggest achievement in the game against the Buffaloes came from his ability to outsize the Colorado players and be in a position to grab key rebounds, as all seven of his rebounds came off the offensive glass.

Chatfield played a crucial role for Iowa State. Whether by extending plays after securing one of his seven rebounds or capitalizing on second-chance opportunities with putbacks and the potential to draw fouls, his efforts helped the team recover from its mistakes.