Top 15 ISU men’s basketball moments: Kansas Jayhawks takedown at Big 12 Championship

They may have been bloodied, but the Iowa State Cyclones finally knocking off the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 Championship is the eighth best moment of last season in our countdown.

Mar 14, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Georges Niang (31) is injured during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference college basketball tournament at Sprint Center. Iowa State won 94-83. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Georges Niang suffered a gash above his right eye after taking an elbow from Brannen Greene. It looked worse than it really was because it hit a blood vessel, but he still had to leave the game and wouldn’t return.

It wouldn’t matter. He bloodied the Jayhawks more during the course of the game, putting up a team-high 25 points and had seven assists. His exit came in the final minutes of the game, and he was already pumping his fist to all the Iowa State fans that made it to Kansas City.

The Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks, 94-83, by destroying the paint with Joel Embiid out and using that to take advantage of open looks on the perimeter. Iowa State went 11-of-19 from downtown, slightly better than their overall field goal percentage of 54 percent.

Kansas was able to stay in it thanks to another dominating performance by Perry Ellis — he did the same when they faced Iowa State in the Big 12 semifinal last season. Tarik Black did a decent job on the boards, but lacked both the offense and explosiveness that Embiid had inside.

The Jayhawks also shooting 4-of-15 from downtown also didn’t help.

Iowa State moved on to the final to take on Baylor the next day.

Iowa State men’s basketball top 15 moments of 2013-14

15. DeAndre Kane’s perimeter shooting en route to Diamond Head Classic title

14. Monte Morris emerges, nearly hits double-double against Auburn

13. Cyclones hold on to win after blowing 18-point lead vs. Texas Tech

12. Redemption at Hilton Coliseum after getting blown out at West Virginia

11. 99 points against Northern Illinois in remembrance of Johnny Orr

10. Daniel Edozie’s block on BYU’s Tyler Haws to preserve Iowa State’s first road win

9. Iowa State heads to the Sweet 16 after comeback over North Carolina

8. Cyclones finally take down Kansas at the Big 12 Championship

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