Iowa State Cyclones Pull Away From Texas Longhorns 82-62

Aided by spectacular shooting from the 3-point line, the Cyclones dominate in an 82-62 win and were able to get their first victory in the Big 12. They send the Longhorns into an 0-3 deficit.

Korie Lucious looked fantastic in the Cyclones’ first Big 12 victory. Mandatory Credit: Josh Holmberg-USA TODAY Sports

Korie Lucious had 10 points and nine assists for Iowa State (11-4, 1-1), having half of the team’s 18 assists. He arguably played his best game of the season, only turning the ball over three times. The Cyclones controlled the ball well overall as a team, only coughing it up five times.

Tyrus McGee provided another spark off the bench, all four of his shots were from the perimeter. He made three in the first half to help give Iowa State a double-digit lead at the half. Iowa State shot 42.3 percent from the 3-point line, nearly identical to their field goal percentage (43.9).

Georges Niang had a career-high 18 points and even made a 3-pointer, leading the team in scoring and putting the dagger in Texas by giving ISU a 15-point lead late in the game. Melvin Ejim led the team with 10 rebounds.

Despite the poorest shooting of any player on the day (6-11 from the field and 2-6 from the stripe), Will Clyburn had the best stat line with 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.

Good luck trying to find a player of the game for this one.

Iowa State scores over 70 points again, making them the only team in Division I basketball to score over 70 points in every game.

Jonathan Holmes and Julian Lewis led Texas in scoring with 15 points each, Holmes also adding nine of the teams’ 35 rebounds. They held the advantage in size getting the rebounds and second chance shots in early. The Longhorns were able to hang in the game the majority of the way, but eventually the teams’ depth and 10 turnovers would doom them as the Cyclones started a rout in the last five minutes of the game.

Along with an impressive effort against Kansas that was almost enough to upset the top-ranked Jayhawks, ISU has looked very good in conference play so far. They’ve already passed the test in matching up with the skill level of Kansas and breaking through the top-ranked defense in the Big 12 conference. They’ll be facing similar teams to Texas in their next two games against West Virginia in Ames and TCU in Fort Worth next week.

Brian Spaen is the lead editor of Clones Confidential. Get more Cyclones coverage by following us on Twitter.