Iowa State men’s basketball: DeAndre Kane ignites Cyclones blowout in exhibition game

It wasn’t pretty early, but the Iowa State men’s basketball restored order in the second half as new transfer DeAndre Kane sparked the Cyclones and eventually pulled away from Augustana in their exhibition game on Sunday night.

Jan 26, 2013; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Tigers guard Chris Crawford (3) guards Marshall Thundering Herd guard DeAndre Kane (50) during the game at the FedEx Forum. Memphis Tigers defeat the Marshall Thundering Herd 73-72. Mandatory Credit: Spruce DerdenUSA TODAY Sports

Kane was near perfect on the night with 19 points and 10 rebounds, making 6 of 8 from the field, 7 of 9 from the free throw line, and added one block, one steal, and had just one turnover. Iowa State was down 39-36 at the half after a sluggish first half performance. When the second half opened, both Dustin Hogue and Georges Niang missed a couple of three-point shots. Kane then went to the foul line and drained both free throws, then made a layup to tie it up at 40 with a free throw opportunity.

Kane would have a couple of more layups and a rebound to finish off his night, but most of the damage he caused was in the first half as he picked up the slack for the rest of the team. Niang notably had a tough game tonight. He went 5 of 15 from the field, missed all four 3-point shots, and turned the ball over five times.

It wasn’t all bad though, with Niang getting a team-high six assists and helped the team move the ball better toward the end of the first half.

With Augustana coming off of an exhibition game against Arizona earlier in the week, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to see them with a bit of a jolt. They made all of their shots out of the gate, but quickly cooled off when the Cyclones got into their rhythm. After being down by three at half, Iowa State won by a comfortable 22-point margin.

Other notes

• The freshmen certainly didn’t disappoint. Matt Thomas came into the season expecting to be an impact player, and he helped a team that shot poorly from the 3-point line making 3 of 4 from the perimeter.
• Monte Morris, the other freshman, came off the bench and had the most points (11) and assists (4). Combined, both Thomas and Morris had 27 points, eight assists, and three turnovers.
• Don’t kill Niang and Naz Long for poor shooting tonight. Neither could hit at all from long range but this is why there’s exhibition.
• Iowa State opened up cold from long range and Augustana stopped hitting anything from the perimeter. It balanced out for both teams having a cold night, combining for just 10 of 51 3-point shot attempts.

Overall, Iowa State had an impressive debut at Hilton Coliseum, and fans shouldn’t be disappointed even with the slow start. DeAndre Kane is an absolute beast that will be fun to watch all season, the freshmen had a same impressive impact last year’s freshmen did, and everyone will be counting down to the Cyclones’ season opener against UNC-Wilmington next Sunday afternoon.