LAWRENCE — The No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones (16-1, 3-1 Big 12) dropped their first game of the season to the Kansas Jayhawks (12-5, 2-2 Big 12) at Allen Fieldhouse, 84-63.
The loss extends the Cyclones’ losing streak at Allen Fieldhouse to eight games. The last time Iowa State defeated Kansas on its home floor was during the 2016-2017 season in a 92-89 overtime victory.
“That was an absolute beatdown from the start,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “A lot for us to learn from, and, you know, continue to move forward.”
The Cyclones shot an abysmal 8-for-33 from the field in the first half, getting outscored 44-23 in the first 20 minutes.
Even while leading the Jayhawks in rebounds, the Cyclones still found themselves down 21 points at the break.
Iowa State also went 4-for-12 on layups in the opening half with only seven second-chance points on 14 offensive rebounds.
“[Flory Bidunga] affected a lot of shots,” junior forward Milan Momcilovic said. “I just think we need to be better.”
The fact that kept the crimson and blue believing that this game was yet to be won was the incredible starts to the second half that the Cyclones have had this season.
Iowa State has outscored its Power Five opponents 112-58 between the beginning of the second half and the under-16-minute media timeout this season. Recently, that surge to begin the second half has led the Cyclones to victories over Baylor and Oklahoma State.
Iowa State began the second half on a 10-5 run. While still impressive and right on par with what they have done in that time period, it only cut the Kansas lead to 16 points.
After approximately four more minutes of the second half, Iowa State had cut the lead to 11.
Iowa State took its last gasp at the 12-minute mark. A 10-0 run for the Jayhawks would start pounding nails into the coffin on Iowa State’s undefeated season. In that span, Iowa State was scoreless for over five minutes.
“We were fortunate that [Momcilovic, Jefferson and Lipsey] missed some looks that wasn’t caused by defense,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said.
Allowing the Jayhawks to regain that 20-point lead shifted the energy in the building and allowed all 15,300 fans in attendance to believe that their Jayhawks had dethroned the previously undefeated Cyclones.
The Cyclones are set for a rematch with Kansas at their home floor on Valentine’s Day.
“I think it was a must-need win,” Self said. “I thought we played great.”
