The Cyclones were not doomed from the start, but they may have been doomed by it.

No. 11 Iowa State (12-3, 2-1 Big 12) fell for the first time in Big 12 play at No. 22 Baylor (13-3, 2-2 Big 12) on Jan. 14, losing to the Bears 74-73.

ISU coach Fred Hoiberg stated explicitly that getting off to a fast start and shooting the ball efficiently were the two most important ingredients to an ISU win. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, the Bears were reading an entirely different menu.

Baylor sank its teeth into Iowa State from the first whistle, pouncing on the visiting Cyclones and sprinting out to a 16-1 lead. 

The contest morphed into a game of runs, as Iowa State busted out its comeback shears, pruning the Baylor advantage all the way down to two points before the Bears finished the first half on a 12-2 spurt.

Both teams improvised on the expected game script, as a vaunted Baylor zone that had limited opponents to 27 percent from behind the arc allowed Iowa State a 10-for-19 performance from behind the arc.

Naz Long led the charge from deep, netting all five of his three-point attempts on his way to a team-high 19 points.

The Bears made up for their defensive woes by drilling an uncharacteristic nine three-pointers. Less surprisingly, Baylor dominated the paint, winning the battle of the boards by 12 and snatching 19 of its 44 total rebounds off of the offensive glass.

The Bears maintained control until roughly 7:30 remained in the second half. Then, the Cyclones tore off on a 17-3 run that carried them all the way to their first lead of the night at 68-67 with 1:50 to play.

From that point on, the conference rivals traded blows down the stretch as the lead changed hands three times in the final 28 seconds. A jump shot by Baylor’s Kenny Chery was the deciding bucket with under five ticks remaining.

Georges Niang missed a runner in the lane as time expired and struggled throughout the night, scoring only 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

Iowa State will take on Kansas on Jan. 17 at Hilton Coliseum.