Curtis Jones torches Kansas to secure important Big 12 victory for Iowa State
By SAM LANCE
Curtis Jones earned his first start of the season for Iowa State after news broke that sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic would be sidelined indefinitely with a left-hand injury. The senior guard sure made the most of it.
The previously famed “super sixth-man” scored 25 points and knocked down 5-of-6 triples to lead No. 2 Iowa State to a 74-57 win over No. 9 Kansas. And Jones didn’t just hit triples. He hit a couple of them from Des Moines.
Fire Us Up, Curt Jones!#Cyclones | #C5C | @curtis_jones3 pic.twitter.com/y0B2NgRUbJ
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) January 16, 2025
Jones scored 20 of his 25 points in the first half, including a 6-for-6 start from the field where he had 14 of Iowa State’s first 24 points. He was simply unconscious.
“For Curt, he gets tremendous rhythm, and you could just see he had it rolling,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said postgame. “There were many times in that first half that we weren’t as effective offensively, and he carried us through some stretches… And then the threes that he hits, I mean, my goodness. They are nowhere near the 3-point line. It always seems like they’re contested and eight feet behind the line. It’s amazing.”
Kansas head coach Bill Self was also impressed with Jones’ performance and said he played like a First-Team All-American. He added Jones plays with a free mind offensively.
“I’m sure he was always a terrific player and a good scorer and all of that stuff — but he’s playing downhill to a point now where he’s got you retreating in many ways,” Self said.
Jones has been on a heater lately, logging three-straight games with 20+ points. Since Big 12 play began, Jones is averaging 21.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game.
“I just feel like, I don’t know,” Jones said. “There ain’t really nothing going on in my head. I just feel super confident. I think if you look at the way I’m playing right now, I feel like I have the right to be.”
Iowa State is looking like a surefire Final Four team and national title contender right now. With the win over Kansas, the Cyclones are now 15-1 with their lone loss coming by two points to the No. 1 team in the land — Auburn. Iowa State also sits at 5-0 in the Big 12 conference, tied for first place with Arizona and Houston.
Jones believes the Cyclones ability to share the wealth allow them to be one of the best teams in America.
“If the other team tries to take someone away, someone else is going to make a play,” Jones said. “We have so many playmakers, so many guys that can make plays. I feel like everybody out there can make a play, and that’s dangerous because you really have to pick your poison and somebody is going to make it happen.”
Next up for the Cyclones is a road game against West Virginia on Saturday, and they will look to continue to defend their highest AP Poll ranking in school history. The Jayhawks will look to bounce back on Saturday against Kansas State.
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