Kansas vs Iowa State final score: Cyclones can’t buy a basket in 77-70 loss to Jayhawks

Iowa State had all the energy and plenty of things go their way, but poor shooting ultimately made them suffer their second loss of the season at the hands of Kansas, and their first loss at Hilton Coliseum.

Jan 13, 2014; Ames, IA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks center Joel Embiid (21) dunks against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

DeAndre Kane led the Cyclones (14-2, 2-2) with 21 points, an effort that came despite injuring his ankle at Oklahoma on Saturday. Apparently the team should have been more worried about their other players.

Overall, Iowa State shot a horrible 31.4 percent from the field. That was lowered thanks to an even worse 4-of-25 from 3-point range. What even makes it worse was Kansas trying to give them the momentum.

The Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0) turned the ball over 22 times and committed 26 fouls. Iowa State was still unable to take full advantage making just 22-of-34 from the free throw line.

Outside of a late surge by Melvin Ejim, the trio of fowards (alongside Georges Niang and Dustin Hogue) went a combined 12-of-45 from the field. Niang missed all nine 3-point shots. Hogue probably had the best game out of all of them with his effort on the boards with nine rebounds and making 7-of-8 shots from the charity stripe.

Iowa State didn’t have an answer for Andrew Wiggins and Naadir Tharpe. Wiggins had his most complete game of the season, finishing with 17 points and 19 rebounds. Tharpe made all his shots in the first half and finished with an efficient 7-of-9 from the field. Along with making 3-of-4 from the perimeter, Tharpe had 23 points, six rebounds, and four assists.

Joel Embiid became a force in the second half. He led the Jayhawks to an eventual pull-away from the Cyclones that made the deficit too large to overcome. He also was efficient making 7-of-8 from the field and finished with 16 points, nine boards, and five blocks.

The Cyclones got dominated on the boards once again. This time, it turned into a season low; giving up 53 rebounds at home is embarrassing.

The only problem for Kansas’ three stars were, of course, the turnovers. Wiggins, Tharpe, and Embiid had a combined 17 turnovers.

Iowa State will try to rebound after a four-day layoff. They’ll head to Texas on Saturday, tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 PM Central time.