Melvin Ejim leads Iowa State Cyclones in upset over Michigan Wolverines 77-70

Both Melvin Ejim for Iowa State and Mitch McGary for Michigan were expected to be out in the big non-conference matchup, but both players were a huge impact in the game. Turns out that Ejim was able to steal the show while McGary had costly fouls that eventually led to a Cyclones victory over the Wolverines at Hilton Coliseum.

Mar 15, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Melvin Ejim (3) steals the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard Elijah Johnosn (15) in the second half during the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament at the Sprint Center. Kansas defeated Iowa State 88-73. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Ejim finished the day off the bench with 22 points and nine rebounds in 28 total minutes of play. The Cyclones only played with seven players, but that’s all they needed even with players like Georges Niang in foul trouble.

Every key player stepped up for Iowa State. Naz Long hit four of the six three-point shots, DeAndre Kane made crucial shots down the stretch, and give it up for Dustin Hogue, who silently had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

This is a huge moment for Iowa State men’s basketball. They have a big game against BYU this upcoming Wednesday that they can’t look past, then they’ll set things up with big in-state games against Iowa and Northern Iowa before heading to Hawai’i for a tournament.

Ejim showed how ready he is for the season, coming back from an injury that was supposed to sideline him until mid-December, and looked like he was 100-percent healthy. The rest of the team looks to be all in with him.