AMES – Iowa State senior guard Curtis Jones has been dubbed by many as the early Sixth Man of the Year. Against No. 9 Kansas, Jones did not necessarily live up to that name.
Instead, Jones found himself in the starting lineup due to sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic being sidelined indefinitely with a hand fracture.
“We’re waiting on some specialist to look at it,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “We just want to make sure that we get it right.”
It was the second game Jones had started this season, and in 36 minutes of court time, he led the team with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting. From the 3-point line, Jones was 5-for-6.
“I had it going,” Jones said. “In the first half, it just felt right. They want me to shoot the ball, and, you know, I’m confident in it, so that’s really it.”
That performance, combined with the typical defensive aggression in every game, gave No. 2 Iowa State a 74-57 win over No. 9 Kansas Wednesday night. This marks the second top-10 win for the Cyclones on the season.
“That was close to a game where we played up to our capability for 40 minutes,” junior forward Joshua Jefferson said. “That’s what it should be every night.”
Jones lit it up in the first half with 20 points and made his first six shots he attempted. The first shot and made basket of the game also belonged to him.
“It was terrific to see him make that first basket,” Otzelberger said. “The confidence he plays with and the poise, and then the 3s that he hits, I mean, my goodness.”
Jones has hit 3s from well beyond the 3-point line in many games. At the end of the half, Jones went on a personal 6-0 run to end the first half via two 3-pointers. The second one was a few feet behind the line.
Performances like these aren’t uncommon for Jones, who has now scored 20 points or more in seven games this season.
“He’s got you retreating in many ways,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said.
A good chunk of Jones’ buckets happened because of Iowa State’s defensive intensity. 11 of his points came off of turnovers or on a fast break.
Both defenses forced turnovers seemingly at will. The Cyclones forced the Jayhawks into 17, while Iowa State committed 13 of its own.
Though he came out firing early, Jones slowed down in the second half. He scored five points in the final 20 minutes, the first of those being a pair of free throws with 1:25 left in the game.
His final bucket was the final dagger, a 3-pointer that put the Cyclones up by 18 with 42 seconds remaining.
As a team, the Cyclones went 62% (8-for-13) from the 3-point line. That now sets a season-high percentage in 3s for Iowa State. From the field, both Kansas and Iowa State shot 24-for-59.
The final point of the game belonged to Jefferson. With 10 points and 12 rebounds, Jefferson recorded his seventh double-double of the season.
“[Jefferson] is a resilient young man,” Otzelberger said. “When he puts his mind to something, he’s going to accomplish it. He’s really tough to guard in space.”
As for the other part of the ‘Presidents’, senior center Dishon Jackson came off the bench for the first time this season, but made the most out of his day.
In place of Jackson, senior forward Brandton Chatfield got the start. Though Chatfield finished with just four points, it was once again his defensive presence and effort that stuck out in his play.
It may have come as a surprise to many to see Chatfield replace Jackson in the starting lineup, but Otzelberger made it clear why the decision happened.
“[Jackson] had missed a mandatory film session,” Otzelberger said. “The standard is high, and we expect everybody’s going to fulfill that standard. At the same time, [Jackson], once he made that choice and that decision, then at that point it was out of his hands. He had to respond to it in a positive way.”
The response on the court was shown, as Jackson finished as the second leading scorer for the Cyclones with 17 points. The brunt of his work came from the free throw line, where he went 9-for-11.
“Certainly thought he gave us a great spark coming in off the bench,” Otzelberger said.
