No. 23 Iowa State continued a memorable run of Hilton Magic with a 79-75 win over No. 7 Kansas at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday behind a barrage of 3-pointers. The victory marked the Cyclones' seventh straight home win against a ranked opponent and improved Iowa State (16-4, 5-2 Big 12) to 13-0 at home this season.
The loss dropped Kansas to 16-4 and 4-3 in the the Big 12 , matching its worst conference record through seven games in coach Bill Self's 21-year tenure. Iowa State led by as much as 12 in the second half before Kansas rallied to inject some drama into the final few minutes. But behind a season-high 14 makes from 3-point range, the Cyclones managed to keep KU at bay.
The Jayhawks had drawn within 74-72 when Keshon Gilbert hit a clutch 3-pointer with 41 seconds remaining to stop a 7-0 Kansas run and extend ISU's lead back to five. Gilbert scored 11 of his 16 points over the game's final 6:02 to help finish what Tre King started.
For much of the game, King keyed the effort for Iowa State, as he finished with 21 points and a career-high four 3-pointers. King had made three 3-pointers all season before drilling 4 of 7 against the Jayhawks. After one of his makes, Kansas coach Bill Self turned around and smirked to his bench as if to say, "what are we supposed to do?"
Kansas' primary counter was the play of Hunter Dickinson. The 7-footer scored 20 points — 16 of them in the second half — and finished with 15 rebounds to lead the Jayhawks.
Iowa State continues to rise
Iowa State earned a No. 11 seed for the NCAA Tournament in 2022 during coach T.J. Otzelberger's first season, despite finishing just 7-11 in Big 12 play. Last season, they were a No. 6 seed for the Big Dance after finishing 9-9 in conference action. This year, the Cyclones have positioned themselves to continue rising, both in the Big 12 and potentially on the seed list.
ISU entered the day at No. 7 in the projected NCAA Tournament of CBS Sports Bracketology Expert Jerry Palm. The win brought the Cyclones to 3-3 in Quad 1 games and gave them their second win over a top-10 team following a Jan. 9 victory over Houston.
The Cyclones are not playing at Kansas this year and only play No. 15 Baylor once. While a trip to play at No. 4 Houston still awaits, ISU has put itself in the running to win the Big 12 for the first time since 2001. That is especially impressive when you consider this team went winless in league play the season before Otzelberger's arrival.
Familiar problem for Kansas
Kansas has struggled to find productivity from its bench all season, and the problem was particularly apparent at Iowa State.
Four players entered off the bench for Kansas, but they totaled just 25 minutes and scored only two points on 1 of 4 shooting. Four of KU's five starters played 20 minutes in the second half. Elmarko Jackson was the lone Jayhawk to play off the bench after halftime, and he logged just two minutes.
Freshman wing Johnny Furphy continued rounding into form with a 15-point showing on 5-of-8 shooting for the Jayhawks. But even with the Jayhawks shooting 57.1% from the floor in the second half, they couldn't muster enough stops to complete their comeback. Perhaps if the starters had been able to rest a bit more in the second half, they would have had more gas in the tank down the stretch.
Big 12 race getting interesting
The Big 12 race is a muddy mess with Kansas now firmly planted in the chase pack and two games behind Texas Tech. The No. 20 Red Raiders squeaked out an 85-84 win at No. 11 Oklahoma on Saturday to reach 5-1 in the league standings and remain in solo possession of first. Houston and Iowa State are close on Texas Tech's heels in what is shaping up to be a bruising battle for conference supremacy. Kansas still has plenty of time to recover from its slow start. But doing so won't be easy as it must play Houston and Baylor twice apiece before the regular season ends.