AMES − Iowa State men’s basketball collected its 10th-straight win on Tuesday night over Utah. The Cyclones’ winning streak is the second-longest in the country, behind San Diego, but the longest of any power-conference team.
It is also the longest win streak for the Cyclones since the 2021-22 season, T.J. Otzelberger’s debut season as Iowa State’s head coach. They went unbeaten to start the year and won 12 straight in a perfect run through non-conference play.
The third-ranked Cyclones defeated the visiting Utes, 82-59, to improve to 13-1 overall and 3-0 in Big 12 Conference play.
Iowa State trailed at one point in the first half, before going on a 21-3 run heading into the halftime break.
Curtis Jones led Iowa State with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting. He also had five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Tamin Lipsey was right behind with 20 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Joshua Jefferson had 17 points, while Keshon Gilbert chipped in 15 points.
Here are three takeaways from the Cyclones’ victory over Utah.
More: Iowa State basketball: Jones, Lipsey tie season-high points in Cyclones’ win vs. Utah
Late first-half run wakes up Iowa State, changes the game
Utah’s Gabe Madsen and Miro Little hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 15-2 run to give the Utes a 22-17 lead over Iowa State with 9:07 remaining in the first half.
Keshon Gilbert knocked down a 3-pointer, which broke a four-minute-long scoring drought for the Cyclones, moments before a media timeout. It also started a 21-3 run for Iowa State.
During the media timeout, Otzelberger challenged his Cyclones. They answered the call.
“There’s been times our mental focus, attention to detail throughout the course of the game − there’s been slippage, and so we challenged them,” Otzelberger said. “… It’s really important that we dial in and finish the half the right way and that was really the message, more than anything.”
Iowa State got beat on the glass early. Utah got hot from the perimeter.
After the break, the Cyclones played with increased urgency and physicality in nearly every facet of the game. They attacked the basket and got the foul line, tightened up their defense, and started to rebound harder on the glass.
Utah only had one made shot over the final 9:07 of the first half. There was also a stretch where it went eight minutes without a single make.
Curtis Jones, Tamin Lipsey match their personal season-highs in scoring
Curtis Jones continues to be an all-around weapon for the Cyclones off the bench.
He finished with a team-high plus-minus rating of +23 and ended the game with 23 points, matching his season-high that he previously posted in a Dec. 12 win over Iowa.
“When he crosses half court, he’s in range,” Utah coach Craig Smith said of Jones. “You always feel like he’s going to make the right play.”
Jones did just that several times Tuesday. He helped uplift the Cyclones through some of their offensive droughts. No matter where he was, every shot felt like a good shot.
Once Utah started doubling him or sending more pressure his way late in the game, he became more of a facilitator and found open teammates. He dished out six assists and had no turnovers.
As for Lipsey, he brought great intensity throughout the game. Aside from his 20 points, which matched his season-high set in the Dec. 22 win over Morgan State, he hit the floor often trying to make plays on both ends of the court.
He took charges, played hard-nosed defense and dove for loose balls. Offensively, he was unafraid of contact or driving the ball against a Utah team that had defended the paint well throughout the year.
“What was particularly amazing was how he stood out guarding the basketball, hunting down rebounds, driving the ball for us, getting to the foul line, making plays − felt like it was his best game, probably this year honestly,” Otzelberger said of Lipsey. “His mentality set the tone for the game, for everybody else on both sides of the basketball and that’s the resilient warrior that he’s been for us.”
Iowa State won by double figures, but was sloppy at times
Not every game is going to be pretty.
Despite the 23-point margin of victory, it wasn’t the cleanest performance by the Cyclones. Still, they were able to come out victorious, which is what elite teams need to do when things don’t go well.
Iowa State played sloppy through the first 12 minutes of the game. After building a double-digit halftime lead, it was slow out of the gate to start the second half and allowed Utah to trim the deficit down to six points.
That would be the closest the Utes would get, though. Iowa State went on another run to extend its lead back into double figures. It hardly looked back from there.
Iowa State did shoot the ball well down the stretch, closing the game on an 8-of-12 shooting run over the final six minutes. That allowed the Cyclones to pull away for a lopsided margin of victory and post a more respectable 27-of-61 (44.3%) clip from the field.
The Cyclones were spotty offensively outside of Jones and Lipsey getting to the line, but once they emerged with a more assertive and physical game, they regained control. Jefferson also stepped things up offensively as the game went on, scoring 15 of his 17 points over the last 15 minutes of the game. Gilbert, while assertive, got 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
Dishon Jackson dealt with foul trouble and was never able to find a rhythm. He picked up his fourth foul with 8:29 left in the game and didn’t return to the floor. He was scoreless and grabbed three rebounds through 10 minutes of action. Milan Momcilovic had just two points on 1-of-5 shooting.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball: 3 takeaways from the Cyclones’ win over Utah
