AMES- Statistically, it was the worst in history. And the game itself looked the part in every way.

No. 15 Iowa State fell to TCU 59-44 Saturday in Hilton Coliseum. The 59 is somewhat consistent with what the Cyclones give up defensively, what really stuck out was the other number: 44.

It’s the lowest scoring output Iowa State has had in the history of Hilton Coliseum. 23 points in the first half, 21 in the second. Those numbers tell all you need to know, but here’s a deeper into the stat sheet to really provide a picture of what a gold-laden Hilton Coliseum saw Saturday.

The Cyclones shot 31 percent overall (17-55), made just three of their 26 three-point attempts (12 percent) and had a 7-10 shooting display from the free-throw line.

Offensive prowess has sometimes been incredibly hard to come by for T.J. Otzelberger and his team this season. And he knows it too.

“We’ve certainly had stretches, I don’t think it’s a big secret we’ve had some challenges offensively… we haven’t shot it particularly well,” Otzelberger said. “But in those games our competitive spirit and generating turnovers and dictating defensively has helped us get going in transition, today that wasn’t the case.”

If the Cyclones were ever on the fast break, they didn’t have any points to show for it. They only had 10 points off turnovers as well, a stat that has gone their way more often than not this season. It’s what Otzelberger believes sparks this team, and today there were no sparks to be found.

What stood out the most seemed to be the lack of three-point shooting ability. Tyrese Hunter, Gabe Kalscheur and Tre Jackson all had just one make from deep apiece, and that was the extent of the makes for the Cyclones.

Jackson, who shot 2-7 overall and made one of his five threes, seemed to have a fairly simple explanation for those who were left dumb founded at the abysmal shooting display.

“I don’t think [TCU] was doing anything defensively,” Jackson said when asked what the cause might be. “It’s basketball, you’re going to make and miss shots… we just missed shots, but we’ll be alright next game.”

The Cyclones have had games shooting 1-20, 1-14, 7-25 and 5-26 from deep in addition to the 3-26 showing they put forth against the Horned Frogs.

Jackson’s lone three-point make resulted in the Cyclones pulling to within three, 36-33, with 13:42 remaining and it forced a TCU timeout. From there, however, it was more of the same in every facet.

The Horned Frogs went on a quick 6-0 run to force an Iowa State timeout just a minute and 42 seconds later. The sequence of a missed three and turnover leading to Horned Frog fast-break points may encapsulate perfectly what plagued the Cyclones seemingly all game.

Two things that Iowa State was hoping to lean on and have found success in at times throughout the season failed them when they had the chance to pull ahead: timely shooting and points off turnovers.

The Cyclones are used to being the aggressor on defense and using that to develop rhythm on offense. They’ve also had nights where the deep ball is failing them, but they make just enough to hang around and eventually pull ahead.

Neither were the case against TCU, and it dropped Iowa State to 2-5 in the Big 12, tied with Oklahoma and Kansas State for last place.