AMES — No. 2 Iowa State took home its second win over a top-10 opponent after a dominant 74-57 performance against No. 9 Kansas Wednesday.
Led by senior guard Curtis Jones, the Cyclones have now won 12 straight games to sit 15-1 overall and 5-0 in the Big 12 Conference.
Jones dominates in starting role
Prior to Wednesday night’s game, Iowa State announced that sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic would be out indefinitely after suffering an injury during practice.
Momcilovic had started all but one game this season; the first game. This meant that changes had to be made to the starting lineup.
“Whenever you have a change like that, you want the next man up to be prepared,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.
One of the changes Otzelberger opted to make was inserting star sixth-man Jones into the starting lineup for just the second time this season.
However, according to Jones, his role didn’t change.
“I just wanna play a lot of minutes and win games and I could do that both ways whether it’s starting or coming off the bench,” Jones said. “I guess it made a difference, but I was really doing the same thing.”
Jones, the Cyclones’ leading scorer coming into Wednesday night’s game, averaging 17.3 points per game, was the leading scorer once again.
The senior guard scored 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point range. 20 points came in the first half, including back-to-back 3-pointers that extended Iowa State’s lead to 10 points at the half.
“You could just see [Jones] had it rolling,” Otzelberger said. “There were many times in the first half that we weren’t as effective offensively and he carries us through those stretches.”
“[Iowa State] had a player [Jones] play like a first-team All-American and he’s terrific,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said.
When asked about what he would remember most about Wednesday night’s game, junior forward Joshua Jefferson said simply: “Curt getting hot.”
Jones also had six rebounds, two steals and a block.
Jackson’s big game off the bench
The other change in the rotation was forward Brandton Chatfield replacing center Dishon Jackson in the starting lineup.
It was the first time that Chatfield had been in the starting lineup, and first time that Jackson had come off the bench.
“[Jackson] had missed a mandatory film session, so we made that change,” Otzelberger said. “Once he made that choice and that decision, at that point it was out of his hands. He had to respond in a positive way.”
The switch didn’t seem to have a negative impact on Jackson’s attitude or performance, in fact, it seemed to have done the opposite.
“[Jackson] gave us a great spark off the bench,” Otzelberger said.
Jackson scored 17 points, tied for a season-high, after shooting 4-for-9 from the field and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. He also secured four crucial offensive rebounds and played a big role in shutting down the Jayhawks’ big men on the defensive side of the ball.
However, what was most noticeable about Jackson’s game didn’t show up on the stat sheet.
Jackson brought an unmatched energy and intensity to Wednesday night’s game. Whether it was going up for slam dunks instead of layups, or hyping up the crowd after a big play, Jackson was the one getting the Hilton Coliseum crowd into the game, which had an obvious effect.
“[Jackson] brings tremendous energy, especially with the way he played tonight,” Jones said. “You could see it in the way he was moving on the court, he was out there screaming, and that’s a good sign when he’s doing that.”
Cyclones stifle Jayhawk offense
The defense led the way for Iowa State on Wednesday night, holding Kansas to just 57 points, its second-lowest total of the season.
The Jayhawks shot 40.7% from the field and 5-for-16 from 3-point range, missing their last six attempts from long range.
The Cyclones held center Hunter Dickinson, the Jayhawks’ leading scorer, to just six points after he shot 3-for-10 from the field. Six points is tied for his season low.
“They do a really good job of not fouling, making you take tough shots,” Dickinson said.
Iowa State also forced 17 turnovers, with five players recording at least one steal and four recording multiple. Guards Tamin Lipsey and Nate Heise led the way with three steals each.
17 turnovers is the second most Kansas has committed this season.
“They were trying to go to Dickinson and get him established, so we were able to generate turnovers,” Otzelberger said.