Iowa State didn’t disappoint on Monday night in the 94-80 win over Northern Illinois. The Cyclones might’ve made a few gamblers upset in Las Vegas though.

The spread for the game was 15.5 points in favor of Iowa State and that 14-point win came in the last possession by Northern Illinois’ Dante Thorpe who launched a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left in the game. The Cyclones would hold onto the ball until the final horn making gamblers who bet on Iowa State an upset crowd.

Other than those handful of people, Iowa State made Cyclone fans happy and energized in Hilton Coliseum before the in-state CyHawk rivalry happens on Thursday night against Iowa.

Here are a couple key takeaways from the fifth straight win for Iowa State.

Everyone gets points

Iowa State had a solid second half on Monday night outscoring Northern Illinois 58-42 to finish out the game. Those 58 points came from a variety of players.

There were four players on Iowa State’s roster that scored double digits and almost a fifth with Terrence Lewis scoring nine points. Coach Steve Prohm said it wasn’t planned, but it was nice to see everyone having an opportunity to score and spread the floor more.

“Once they get on the floor, they need to make decisions,” Prohm said. “That’s the make up of our team.”

That success has come from each player knowing their role on the team. Nick Weiler-Babb is the point guard and leads the team each possession. That showed with his 12 points, 11 assists and five rebounds tonight.

Then, Lindell Wigginton and Donovan Jackson are the shooters on the wings and did they shoot tonight. The two combined for 32 of the 66 field goal attempts tonight. Wigginton’s 28 points and Jackson’s 24 points came from a combined 10 3-pointers.

Finally, Cameron Lard is the physical paint player along with Solomon Young. Lard had 14 points, while Young only had two, but contributed with five rebounds. Prohm has been encouraging more feeds to the post players the last couple of games and it has allowed more open players.

A dominant second half

The Northern Illinois game was the second straight game that Iowa State took control of the second half resulting in a win.

The Cyclones defeated Western Illinois on Nov. 25 after winning the second half with a 41-20 margin. This game against Northern Illinois, Iowa State won the second half with a 58-42 margin.

Something in the locker room must be said to get these Cyclone basketball players fired up because it’s showing with almost 100 points combined over the past two games in the second half. Apparently, it’s the captains and players talking because it’s a quick talk from Prohm.

“I didn’t get into the locker room until seven minutes [left until the second half],” Prohm said.

If Iowa State can be this dominant in the second half, it doesn’t have to be worried with a single-digit deficit going into the half. The players just need to continue making one more pass like they did tonight leading to open shooters and easy points.

This type of win is a confidence booster for each Iowa State player and that intensity will be needed this Thursday when in-state rival Iowa comes to Hilton Coliseum for the CyHawk game.

“In the first half, we didn’t show a lot of intensity,” Wigginton said. “Coach [Prohm] told us in the locker room to be more intense.”