AMES — The No. 4 Cyclones lost their first contest at home following a sloppy start as they dropped 82-73 against No. 16 Texas Tech on Saturday.
“Obviously, we wanted to stay undefeated at home,” senior guard Tamin Lipsey said. “So that stings a little bit, but at the same time, we got Arizona coming up and we have another home game later on to finish it off.”
Scrambling in the first half
Every once in a while, the Cyclones will have an off game, a normal occurrence for many teams; however, Iowa State put up 29 points compared to Texas Tech’s 45 in the first 20 minutes.
Compared to Texas Tech, the Cyclones lacked in multiple spots, specifically in one of their brighter spots on the court, the 3-point arc. Iowa State went 2-9 from deep, compared to the Red Raiders shooting 44.4%, going 8-18 from behind the arc.
One of Texas Tech’s biggest bright spots on the court was its rebound advantage. Always being aware and under the basket, the Red Raiders out-rebounded the Cyclones 16-to-14. Overall, benefiting them in the transition stage, securing two fast-break points and three second-chance points.
“We define how coming into this game, how important winning the rebounding battle would be and finishing plays on the glass,” Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “In the first possession, we put ourselves in deficit.”
The Red Raiders also stepped on the Cyclones’ toes, dominating them in their strong suits. Texas Tech out-assisted
Iowa State in the first half, 11-3, silencing the usual dominant forces in Cardinal and Gold, Lipsey to three points and two fouls.
Alongside permitting senior forward Joshua Jefferson to make his more experienced, advanced plays as he was dealing with double and triple teaming and ultimately causing Jefferson to secure nine points, one rebound, one assist and two turnovers.
However, those two were not the only Cyclones players on the floor who struggled to gain momentum, as junior forward Milan Momcilovic secured seven points after going 3-5 from the field.
“I think we were scrambling most of the time in the first half,” Momcilovic said.
While the Cyclones were asleep, facing their own struggles, Texas Tech secured 45 points, shooting 62% from the field. Senior guard Donovan Atwell secured 15 points as he shot 5-9 from deep.
Heise impacts Cyclones final minutes
Following a quiet first half for redshirt senior guard Nate Heise, who secured two points, went 0-2 from the charity stripe and secured three rebounds.
Heise locked in with less than 10 minutes of the clock remaining, to help create a momentum boost 10-0 run for the Cyclones.
Developing two steals in desperate measure for the Cyclones, one of which was made for him to go to the line, securing two successful free throws. Overall, contributing to Iowa State’s 70% free-throw rate.
Although not showing up much on the stat sheet, Heise was a physical, aggressive and smart player throughout the contest. Finishing with +14, five rebounds, one assist and two steals.
“I thought specifically he had some big rebounds down the stretch in the second half,” Otzelberger said. “So we’ve continued to count on him and we know that he will bring us a spark as we move forward.”
Texas Tech’s scoring success
The Red Raiders finished the contest with six players in double figures, with Atwell driving the offensive momentum with 18 points after going 6-11 from the field.
“I’ve been saying all season, we have so many offensive threats that it’s gonna be hard for teams to stop all of us,” Atwell said. “But over four or five people on double figures, so every night it’s going to be someone different and today it was a good day.”
Not far behind, sophomore guard Christian Anderson contributed 14 points and seven assists. Sophomore forward Luke Bamgboye secured 13 points before fouling out and freshman guard Jaylen Petty scored 12 points alongside nine rebounds.
Adding to the dominant offensive team, senior guard Tyeree Bryan and sophomore forward Josiah Moseley each scored 10 apiece, with Moseley contributing nine rebounds and a team high of three blocks.
“They [Texas Tech] obviously have a great culture and they share the basketball,” Otzelberger said. “But they also have to make the shots and they made timely shots throughout the course of the game.”
With their offensive success, the Red Raiders overall shot 58% from the field, 48% from deep and 54% from behind the charity stripe. Texas Tech found most of its success within the paint as it secured 30 points, complemented by its 20 bench points.
