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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Iowa State men's basketball never looks past its next opponent, but once the Big 12 Tournament bracket was finalized and the Cyclones saw that their path went through Texas Tech, they had revenge on their minds.
After dispatching Arizona State with a record-setting 49-point margin of victory on March 11, Iowa State avenged its only loss at Hilton Coliseum by defeating fourth-seeded Texas Tech 75-53 on March 12. The victory came in front of a raucous "Hilton South" crowd in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Center.
The Cyclones were two games from an undefeated finish at home before Texas Tech broke the unbeaten streak on Feb. 28.
Much like the lone regular-season meeting, Iowa State quickly fell behind after a hot-shooting start by the Red Raiders. The Cyclones trailed by 12 points before they buckled down and battled back to take a 36-33 halftime lead after a last-second Jamarion Batemon 3-pointer.
Iowa State (27-6) dominated the game on both ends of the court in the second half, pulling away and leading by as much as 24.
Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, with four assists and no turnovers. Joshua Jefferson posted an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, with six assists, two blocks and a steal. Dominykas Pleta chipped in 11 points in 14 bench minutes.
For Texas Tech, LeJuan Watts had 12 points and seven boards.
Here are three takeaways from the Cyclones' win:
It helps having great senior leadership during the postseason. The Cyclones are fortunate to have two of the best around at their position.
Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson were tone-setters throughout.
"It's like we got two point guards out there, a small one and a big one," Lipsey said of him and Jefferson. "When he pushes the ball up the court, it seems like no one can stop him and he always makes the right decision, if it's to dish it or to finish it. Whatever it is, just playing off of each other."
Lipsey's non-stop motor was on full display. Even in moments where he slipped and slid on the glass court surface, he was still somehow able to quickly recover and get back in position to make winning plays or grab boards and loose balls. Offensively, he had a game-high 20 points and shot a season-best 4-of-7 from long range. He was also efficient and effective with his drives to the basket. He had a turnover-free game.
As for Jefferson, he was a freight train and nearly unstoppable when driving to the basket. He finished 8-of-11 inside the arc and had a few and-1s. He notched his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds, with six assists, two blocks and a steal. He was highly active on both ends of the floor and was a key asset in the Cyclones outscoring Texas Tech in the paint, 42-18.
"I think that's when we're at our best, when I'm being more vocal and leading that way," Jefferson said. "Sometimes I can fall away from that if I'm not confident in myself, so as long as I'm being confident in myself, it's going to feed off to the team."
The start of the game was undoubtedly shaky. The Red Raiders raced out to a 17-5 lead over the first 6:02 of the contest.
During that opening stretch, the Red Raiders shot 6-of-10 overall, including a streak of three consecutive 3-pointers. Initially, it looked like it was about to be more of the same from the Feb. 28 meeting.
Iowa State settled in after an early timeout and it just kept compounding momentum as the rest of the game unfolded. The Cyclones used a 15-2 run with a Lipsey 3-pointer to cap things and make it 20-19 with 9:57 left in the first half. It was a back-and-forth battle until Iowa State inevitably pulled away with its defense dictating the flow of the game.
The Red Raiders shot 13-of-46 (28.2%) over the final 34 minutes to end the game.
Texas Tech had six different players score in double figures in the earlier meeting, with sharpshooter Donovan Atwell leading the charge after knocking down 6-of-10 3-pointers to finish with 18 points.
Atwell was held to shooting to nine points on 3-for-10 shooting. Leading scorer Christian Anderson was the only player outside of LeJuan Watts to score at least 10 points, barely meeting the threshold. He had 10 points, but shot 4-of-10.
The Red Raiders shot 33.9% for the game, marking the fourth time the Cyclones held an opponent below 34% in a contest.
"We did a better job today guarding the basketball," Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "So those opportunities, if you're not in rotation and you're not spread out, you have a better chance to contest and make those tougher shots, or make them break the plane and play inside the 3-point line. I think we did both of those today.
"When you're the more aggressive team, also guarding the basketball, you tend to be the team quicker to rotation. In Ames, they did a better job moving the ball than we did rotating. I felt like today our guys did a great job in rotation."
The Cyclones fell below their average turnovers generated per game, although they still made 17 points off turnovers, but they easily made up for it with their sustained physicality, assertiveness and effort on both ends of the court.
While their defensive performance was integral, the same could be said for their effort on the glass and dominance in the paint.
In the previous meeting, Texas Tech bullied Iowa State on the glass, outrebounding the Cyclones by six, including numerous offensive rebounds that resulted in second-chance points for the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders also won the scoring margin in the paint, 30-24.
Thursday was a complete reversal in both aspects of the game. The Cyclones were big on the glass, outrebounding Texas Tech, 39-29. Iowa State cleaned up on the defensive glass, limiting the Red Raiders to numerous one-shot possessions.
The Cyclones are 21-0 this season when they win the rebounding battle.
In the paint, Iowa State controlled it in one-sided fashion, outscoring the Red Raiders there, 42-18.
"Right away, rebounding was the most important thing and creating turnovers," Lipsey said "To begin the game, they came out and sort of went on a run. We weren't knocking down shots, but we continued to get stops and win the rebounding battle, which was a huge key for us and then be able to play freely on our offensive side."
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 3 takeaways from Iowa State basketball's win over Texas Tech
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After dispatching Arizona State with a record-setting 49-point margin of victory on March 11, Iowa State avenged its only loss at Hilton Coliseum by defeating fourth-seeded Texas Tech 75-53 on March 12. The victory came in front of a raucous "Hilton South" crowd in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals at T-Mobile Center.
The Cyclones were two games from an undefeated finish at home before Texas Tech broke the unbeaten streak on Feb. 28.
Much like the lone regular-season meeting, Iowa State quickly fell behind after a hot-shooting start by the Red Raiders. The Cyclones trailed by 12 points before they buckled down and battled back to take a 36-33 halftime lead after a last-second Jamarion Batemon 3-pointer.
Iowa State (27-6) dominated the game on both ends of the court in the second half, pulling away and leading by as much as 24.
Tamin Lipsey led the Cyclones with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, with four assists and no turnovers. Joshua Jefferson posted an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, with six assists, two blocks and a steal. Dominykas Pleta chipped in 11 points in 14 bench minutes.
For Texas Tech, LeJuan Watts had 12 points and seven boards.
Here are three takeaways from the Cyclones' win:
Iowa State seniors Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson shine
It helps having great senior leadership during the postseason. The Cyclones are fortunate to have two of the best around at their position.
Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson were tone-setters throughout.
"It's like we got two point guards out there, a small one and a big one," Lipsey said of him and Jefferson. "When he pushes the ball up the court, it seems like no one can stop him and he always makes the right decision, if it's to dish it or to finish it. Whatever it is, just playing off of each other."
Lipsey's non-stop motor was on full display. Even in moments where he slipped and slid on the glass court surface, he was still somehow able to quickly recover and get back in position to make winning plays or grab boards and loose balls. Offensively, he had a game-high 20 points and shot a season-best 4-of-7 from long range. He was also efficient and effective with his drives to the basket. He had a turnover-free game.
As for Jefferson, he was a freight train and nearly unstoppable when driving to the basket. He finished 8-of-11 inside the arc and had a few and-1s. He notched his 10th double-double of the season, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds, with six assists, two blocks and a steal. He was highly active on both ends of the floor and was a key asset in the Cyclones outscoring Texas Tech in the paint, 42-18.
"I think that's when we're at our best, when I'm being more vocal and leading that way," Jefferson said. "Sometimes I can fall away from that if I'm not confident in myself, so as long as I'm being confident in myself, it's going to feed off to the team."
Iowa State basketball smothers Texas Tech with solid defense
The start of the game was undoubtedly shaky. The Red Raiders raced out to a 17-5 lead over the first 6:02 of the contest.
During that opening stretch, the Red Raiders shot 6-of-10 overall, including a streak of three consecutive 3-pointers. Initially, it looked like it was about to be more of the same from the Feb. 28 meeting.
Iowa State settled in after an early timeout and it just kept compounding momentum as the rest of the game unfolded. The Cyclones used a 15-2 run with a Lipsey 3-pointer to cap things and make it 20-19 with 9:57 left in the first half. It was a back-and-forth battle until Iowa State inevitably pulled away with its defense dictating the flow of the game.
The Red Raiders shot 13-of-46 (28.2%) over the final 34 minutes to end the game.
Texas Tech had six different players score in double figures in the earlier meeting, with sharpshooter Donovan Atwell leading the charge after knocking down 6-of-10 3-pointers to finish with 18 points.
Atwell was held to shooting to nine points on 3-for-10 shooting. Leading scorer Christian Anderson was the only player outside of LeJuan Watts to score at least 10 points, barely meeting the threshold. He had 10 points, but shot 4-of-10.
The Red Raiders shot 33.9% for the game, marking the fourth time the Cyclones held an opponent below 34% in a contest.
"We did a better job today guarding the basketball," Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "So those opportunities, if you're not in rotation and you're not spread out, you have a better chance to contest and make those tougher shots, or make them break the plane and play inside the 3-point line. I think we did both of those today.
"When you're the more aggressive team, also guarding the basketball, you tend to be the team quicker to rotation. In Ames, they did a better job moving the ball than we did rotating. I felt like today our guys did a great job in rotation."
Iowa State was much more physical in the rematch with Texas Tech
The Cyclones fell below their average turnovers generated per game, although they still made 17 points off turnovers, but they easily made up for it with their sustained physicality, assertiveness and effort on both ends of the court.
While their defensive performance was integral, the same could be said for their effort on the glass and dominance in the paint.
In the previous meeting, Texas Tech bullied Iowa State on the glass, outrebounding the Cyclones by six, including numerous offensive rebounds that resulted in second-chance points for the Red Raiders.
The Red Raiders also won the scoring margin in the paint, 30-24.
Thursday was a complete reversal in both aspects of the game. The Cyclones were big on the glass, outrebounding Texas Tech, 39-29. Iowa State cleaned up on the defensive glass, limiting the Red Raiders to numerous one-shot possessions.
The Cyclones are 21-0 this season when they win the rebounding battle.
In the paint, Iowa State controlled it in one-sided fashion, outscoring the Red Raiders there, 42-18.
"Right away, rebounding was the most important thing and creating turnovers," Lipsey said "To begin the game, they came out and sort of went on a run. We weren't knocking down shots, but we continued to get stops and win the rebounding battle, which was a huge key for us and then be able to play freely on our offensive side."
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 3 takeaways from Iowa State basketball's win over Texas Tech
Continue reading...
