ISU coach Fred Hoiberg had Georgia on his mind coming into the game Nov. 17 against Georgia State, but by halftime the Mayor was ready to forget it.

The first half was anything but peachy for the Cyclones as the Panthers frustrated the ISU offense by slowing the game down with deliberate offensive sets and a variation of zone-press defenses.

“Concern is the right word. It is definitely the right word,” Hoiberg said. “It takes a lot of time to prepare for [Georgia State’s defense], and I was really nervous because we only had two days.”

The ISU men’s basketball team (2-0, 0-0 Big 12) struggled in the early going, trading blows with Georgia State (1-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) and actually trailed its scrappy opponent 21-20 midway through the first half.

Georgia State’s multitude of defensive looks were enough to keep Iowa State out of the transition game, which serves as the motor for Hoiberg’s potent offensive attack, for most of the initial half.

Favorable results followed.

“Going into the first half we [were] tight, we [were] scared to make plays a little bit,” said sophomore Monte Morris. “Coach wanted us to pick up the pace a little bit and that was our key in the halftime.”

The lack of transition opportunities kept the rate of the game slower, limiting uncontested ISU baskets that help shooters find their rhythm.

“We were doing a great job moving the ball around the zone and trying to get open plays for everybody else,” said senior Bryce Dejean-Jones. “The shots just were not falling.”

The most meaningful by-product of the absence of transition buckets for the Iowa State was that the Panthers limited the Cyclones to only 43 percent shooting from the field and an abysmal 4-15 from deep.

“I think sometimes when you do not make shots, especially open shots, it affects the way you play, and you have got to get through that,” Hoiberg said.

Missing shots against a zone is the equivalent of an offensive nightmare for a jump-shot soaked offense like Iowa State’s because of the limited opportunities zones allow in the paint.

The result was a tight game in which the Cyclones led by only six points — it was 35-29 headed into the locker room.

The second half, however, might as well have been a different game.

“My biggest message … [was] play with pace, get the ball to the corner,” Hoiberg said. “When we got the ball to the corner we got post-ups, we got the ball to the middle and we really started to expose them.”

Iowa State had 14 of its 23 assists in the second half, moving the ball more effectively and forcing more defensive rotations from Georgia State.

The Cyclones also hit the glass harder. Out-rebounded by one in the first half, Iowa State won the battle of the boards 20-14 in the second half, which also allowed Iowa State to get out and run.

Yet, it was the ISU defense that made the greatest impact. The Cyclones held the Panthers to 39 percent shooting on the night and only 58 points for the game, which will never be enough to beat the Cyclones on any floor, let alone the one inside Hilton.

“We had a nice stretch where we got stops, and we could really get out and run after we did that,” Hoiberg said. “I really [think] our defense is headed in the right direction.”

Iowa State ran all the way to 46 second-half points, running Georgia State out of the game in the process.

The ISU attack was led by Morris, who was a model of efficiency.

Morris finished the game with a career-high 19 points, nine assists, five rebounds and most importantly zero turnovers, as he orchestrated Iowa State’s second-half rout of a team that was good enough to play as a 6-seed in the National Invitation Tournament last season.

The transition opportunities led to acrobatic plays that energized the crowd. The crowd energized the players and the cycle perpetuated itself all the way to a 23-point blowout win for the Cyclones, 81-58.

Iowa State will welcome back redshirt junior Abdel Nader and sophomore Matt Thomas from suspensions in its next game against Alabama. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. Nov. 24 in Kansas City, Mo.