3 keys to Texas' blowout win over No. 20 Iowa State

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Texas basketball cleansed its palate after the beatdown earlier this week at Texas Tech behind the scoring efforts of Marcus Carr and Andrew Jones.

The Longhorns guards each scored 14 as Texas turned a two-point, halftime lead into a 63-41 blowout win over No. 20 Iowa State Saturday at the Frank Erwin Center.

A slog of a game flipped in favor of Texas during the final minute of the first half.

Texas trailed by three before Christian Bishop's dunk and Carr's 3-pointer at the buzzer turned the scoreboard to the Longhorns. The momentum was real for the Longhorns as they came out clicking to start the second half.

Texas outscored Iowa State by 20 in the final 20 minutes to earn a critical win with two top-10 matchups ahead. The Longhorns will host No. 10 Kansas Monday in Austin and travel to No. 8 Baylor next weekend. Here's how the Longhorns won its second game over a ranked opponent this season.

3 keys to Texas' win

Second half start

The first 10 minutes of the second half decided Saturday's contest. Texas got 3-pointers from Carr, Courtney Ramey and Jones for a 38-31 lead just five minutes into half. Iowa State didn't take care of the basketball, committing four turnovers compared to three baskets in the first six minutes. It's hard to beat a team when they're cooking from outside. Texas hit six of its first 10 3-point attempts in the second half.

Solid defense

Iowa State didn't play well, and Texas made it difficult for them. The Cyclones couldn't make a basket and made matters worse by turning the ball over 18 times. Texas executed better by converting those turnovers into points. Iowa State went over nine minutes without a field goal in the second half. The Cyclones shot 28% from the field, making only two of 15 3-point attempts.

Critical win

Saturday's game was the halfway point of a critical, five-game stretch for the Longhorns. So far, Texas is 2-1. Texas closes out this portion of the schedule with a "Big Monday" home game against No. 10 Kansas. The Longhorns will travel to Waco next weekend to face No. 8 Baylor. Last season, the Longhorns went 2-0 against Kansas and 0-2 against the national champion Bears.