It was no contest for the second straight time in Hilton Coliseum. Iowa State moves to 6-0 with tremendous ball movement after breezing past Auburn despite a bad start shooting from the perimeter.
Dec 2, 2013; Ames, IA, USA; Auburn Tigers guard KT Harrell (1) drives the lane against the Iowa State Cyclones at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
TheCyclones (6-0)missed their first eight shots from behind the arc and they fell behind 12-5 in the first five minutes. As always, they kept on shooting the deep ball and it paid off – the team went 7 of 11 to finish the first half and ISU held a 19-point lead at the half.
Dustin Hoguewas the main attraction that helped the Cyclones dominate. He recorded a double-double in the first half and finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds.
Four other Iowa State players reached double digits:Matt ThomasandMelvin Ejimhad 14 points,Monte Morrishad 12, andNaz Longhad 11. Outside of Ejim, who was 0 and 4 from the perimeter, the other three combined to hit nine of the team’s 13 total 3-pointers made.
Outside ofChris DensonandKT Harrell, there wasn’t much to write home about for theTigers (4-2). They took a combined 33 of the teams’ 62 total shot attempts; Denson had 27 points and eight rebounds. He made 11 of 13 free throw attempts and seven of his rebounds were on the defensive end.
When Auburn got to the line, they were spot on, only missing four attempts. But Iowa State excelled in nearly every phase of the game, and moved the ball around so perfectly. Of the Cyclones’ 33 field goals made, 28 of them were made off of assists.
That’s just insanity.
Other notes:
- DeAndre Kaneplayed more as a facilitator with seven assists. He struggled from the field, making just 2 of 9 shots, the first game he’s looked human with the Cyclones.
- Georges Niangwasn’t needed to close out the game, and he wouldn’t have been available anyway. He struggled with foul trouble, being the only Cyclone to foul out and missed 6 of 8 shots.
- Backup guard play continues to impress with Norris, who was one assist away from having a double-double off the bench.
Iowa State will have their next couple games against in-state opponents. First up is Northern Iowa in Des Moines late Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is at 5:00 PM Central time and will be televised on MC22 and online at Cyclones.tv.
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