Iowa State secures first Big 12 Tournament title since 2019 behind hot 3-point shooting
By SAM LANCE
KANSAS CITY — There wasn’t a cloud in the Kansas City sky on Saturday, but inside the T-Mobile Center it was raining. How? Because the Iowa State Cyclones were in town.
Behind 41% shooting from 3-point range, T.J. Otzelberger and Iowa State secured a 69-41 win over No. 1 Houston, securing the Cyclones first Big 12 Tournament title since 2019. Iowa State fans had shown out all week in Kansas City making the T-Mobile Center feel like the Cyclones home arena. And now, those fans are rewarded with a Big 12 Tournament title.
Iowa State fans absolutely invaded Kansas City.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 15, 2024
Hilton South. pic.twitter.com/0Ptr69BGq8
Iowa State’s 9-of-22 shooting from deep was the main catalyst in the win, but the Cyclones also played great defense holding Houston to 41 points and 27% shooting from the field. Iowa State out-rebounded Houston by one and out-scored the Cougars 28-18 in the paint as well.
“Our last regular season game felt like we weren’t as focused as we needed to be in a lot of aspects,” Otzelberger said. “It was great to have an opportunity to get back to the practice court where truthfully we didn’t know who we were playing, so we could just focus on us… These guys worked extremely hard, they’ve trusted, they’ve done the hard work, they’ve played for one another. We’ve been really good defensively throughout the course of the year, but to see us take the steps we have offensively is truly special.”
Three players finished in double-figures for the Cyclones including freshman forward Milan Momcilovic (18 points), junior guard Keshon Gilbert (16 points) and senior forward Hason Ward (13 points). Sophomore guard Tamin Lipsey also contributed with nine points, six assists and five rebounds.
Iowa State went on two key runs in the first half to create separation. First, the Cyclones spurted off on a 8-0 run at the midway point, including a Momcilovic off-balance 3-pointer to put Iowa State up 17-11 and send the T-Mobile Center crowd into a frenzy. Momcilovic and Lipsey hit two other huge threes for a 6-0 Cyclone run toward the end of the half. Iowa State went into the locker room up 30-23.
What completely flipped the game was a 10-0 run to start the second half. Momcilovic drained his third 3-pointer of the game to cap it off and give Iowa State a 40-23 lead with 17:58 to play. From there, the Cyclones really never looked back.
Overall, Iowa State out-scored Houston 39-18 in the second half. At one point, the Cyclones were up 30 points.
Things I never thought I’d tweet… Iowa State is currently up 30 points on Houston. pic.twitter.com/dkARMkYKBF
— Sam Lance (@slancehoops) March 16, 2024
Iowa State is a projected No. 2 seed and will play in the Midwest Region via ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. That would put the Cyclones in Omaha for the first two rounds.
“You hear it all the time, you want to be playing your best basketball this time of year,” Otzelberger said. “I don’t think there’s any question that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
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