AMES — In what was expected to be a highly contested matchup of top 25 teams, it was anything but, as No. 3 Iowa State never trailed in its 74-55 victory over No. 25 Baylor Saturday.
Iowa State shuts down Baylor offense
Coming into the game, Baylor had the second-best scoring offense in the Big 12, averaging 86.4 points per game, trailing only Iowa State.
It was a different story on Saturday. The Cyclones neutralized the Baylor offense, allowing the Bears to only score a season-low 55 points.
Baylor shot a season-low 29.7% from the field, but did a good job limiting turnovers, committing just eight.
“It shows that we can win in so many different ways,” Iowa State senior guard Keshon Gilbert said. “Even if we don’t turn people over, our defense comes first.”
“Except for about three or four of those late possessions, I thought we did a great job in that department [contesting shots],” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.
The Bears’ two leading scorers, Norchad Omier and Robert Wright, particularly struggled.
Iowa State held Omier to just nine points after going 3-for-11 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. Nine points is now Omier’s second-lowest-scoring output of the season.
Wright was held to 10 points, going 4-for-17 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range. Wright’s 23.5% field goal percentage was his worst of the season.
Trio of Cyclones lead the way in scoring
Iowa State may have been held to a season-low 74 points, but it still had some solid offensive contributions.
Three Cyclones scored in double-figures; Gilbert, sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic and senior guard Curtis Jones.
“We got so many weapons, so many people that can score the ball and getting everybody touches makes everybody feel good,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert led the way in scoring once again on Saturday. The senior guard scored 16 points, going 5-of-10 from the field and 2-of-3 from 3-point range.
Gilbert also recorded a season-high 10 rebounds as well as five assists in Iowa State’s victory.
Momcilovic wasn’t far behind, as he scored 15 points on Saturday afternoon. All of Momcilovic’s attempts were from 3-point range and he shot them well, going 4-for-7.
Momcilovic leads Iowa State in 3-point percentage this season, shooting 44.1% from behind the arc.
“We want Milan [Momcilovic] to be so aggressive,” Otzelberger said. “We want him always on the hunt because regardless of when it comes, we’ve got tremendous confidence in his ability to knock it down.”
“I think I shot the ball well today, just came out aggressive, hunting the ones that are open,” Momcilovic said.
Jones, the Cyclones’ other leading scorer, scored 14 points in 28 minutes off the bench. Jones went 6-of-13 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3-point range.
“We need [Jones] to keep hunting,” Otzelberger said.
Cyclones shoot well from behind the arc
In Iowa State’s 79-69 victory over Colorado on Monday, it shot just 22% from 3-point range, which allowed the Buffaloes to hang around longer than they probably should have.
That was not the case for the Cyclones on Saturday, as they shot a very efficient 47.6% from 3-point range, which made it difficult for Baylor to try to climb back into the game.
Momcilovic led the way from 3-point range, going 4-for-7, while Gilbert, Jones and junior guard Tamin Lipsey each made two of their own, going a combined 6-for-12 from behind the arc.
“When you’re the more aggressive team, teams have to collapse,” Otzelberger said. “That’s where the looks from three come from.”
Going into Saturday’s game Iowa State had not been a great 3-point shooting team.
The Cyclones had shot just 34.2% from behind the arc in their first 12 games, which ranks 13th among Big 12 teams. Despite the lackluster numbers from 3-point range, the Cyclones still had the top offense in the Big 12, which shows how talented this team is.
If Iowa State can get more shooting performances like it had on Saturday, it is hard to imagine that many teams would be able to take them down.
