AMES – On a frigid Tuesday night, No. 3 Iowa State brought the heat early and jumped out to a 20-5 lead in the opening minutes, going on to defeat Colorado 79-65. 

Energized defense

The game had all the makings of one that could feature a sluggish start from the Cyclones. They were playing the last-place team in the Big 12, one they had already beaten twice before, the crowd was smaller than usual due to the frigid temperatures and a top-10 matchup with No. 5 Houston was on the horizon. 

All of these factors are probably why Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger emphasized getting off to a fast start heading into the game.

“It’s gonna take a lot of focus, and us coming out right away with great intent, getting off to a great start, because we know that they’re gonna come in here hungry to get a winning streak going,” Otzelberger said on Monday.

The Cyclones seemed to take that message to heart, because they looked anything but sluggish once the ball was tipped, especially on the defensive end. 

At the under-12 timeout, Iowa State had already gotten its lead up to 15 points. Throughout those first eight minutes, the Cyclones held Colorado to just five points on 1-of-6 shooting, while also forcing five early turnovers. 

“Our guys did a great job starting the game, we were up 20-5,” Otzelberger said. “We got out to the start we needed to get out to, so I think that was one of the big positives for us.”

“We were up 20-5 at one point, so I think we started off solid,” senior guard Nate Heise said.

It’s nearly impossible to keep up that pace on defense, but Iowa State’s defensive performance throughout the entirety of the game was still very impressive. 

The Cyclones held the Buffaloes to 65 points on 45.3% shooting from the field and just 23.5% from 3-point range, while also forcing 14 turnovers. 

“They came out and punched us in the face defensively and we didn’t handle it very well,” Colorado head coach Tad Boyle said.

Nate Heise scores season-high

On the offensive side, Iowa State got a big contribution from an unexpected source. 

Heise transferred to Iowa State this season after spending the first four years of his career at Northern Iowa, where he was no stranger to scoring the basketball. 

In his last season at UNI, Heise averaged 13.5 points per game and shot 46.3% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range, while taking an average of 10.1 shots per game.

However, his role as a Cyclone has been very different. 

The senior guard averages just 3.5 points per game, while only taking three shots per game, by far the lowest amount in his five-year career.

This has been due to both some shooting struggles, and the fact that he has been mostly a defensive weapon for the Cyclones this season. 

But on Tuesday night, Heise got some offensive opportunities and took advantage of them. Heise scored a season-high 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 2-of-3 from deep.

“I’ve been in college long enough to know that it goes up and down, so I’m just sticking with it,” Heise said. 

“If he just stays in this space of ‘hey, when I’m open, I’m gonna shoot it, if I have an angle, I’m gonna drive it, if I’m guarded, I’m gonna pass it’, I think he’s doing that more so he’s not getting as caught up overthinking it,” Otzelberger said. 

If Heise can continue to gain some confidence shooting the ball, he could be a valuable offensive piece as the Cyclones continue their charge. 

“We know the job he does defensively and we know how competitive he is, but when he can chip in 11 points as well, that’s a huge plus for our team,” Otzelberger said. 

Efficient offensive performance

Heise wasn’t the only Cyclone playing good offensive basketball, as there were five different Cyclones who scored 10 or more points.

Sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic and senior center Dishon Jackson led the way scoring 13 points each, with both of them doing a lot of their scoring from the free-throw line. Momcilovic went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line while Jackson went 7-of-10.

Getting to the line is something that Otzelberger has emphasized throughout the season and has been a big factor in the Cyclones’ last two outings, as they shot 30 against Cincinnati and 31 against Colorado on Tuesday night, which was a season-high. 

“On the offensive side of things, we want to drive the ball off the paint, we want to play a physical brand of basketball,” Otzelberger said. “In league play that’s been a huge plus for us, I believe we’ve made more free throws than our opponents have attempted. That’s a really important stat, especially for our team.”

The Cyclones were efficient away from the free-throw line as well. 

Iowa State shot 51% from the field and 47.6% from 3-point range. When a team shoots that well they are going to be hard to beat, something that the Buffaloes learned first hand on Tuesday. 

“When they [Iowa State] go 10-for-21 from three, and they guard like they guard, they’re gonna win a lot of games down the stretch,” Boyle said.