Iowa State looks like it’s fully back on track.
The Cyclones, after a rough loss in Fort Worth early last week, have now won back-to-back top-10 matchups in the Big 12 in the span of three days.
No. 6 Iowa State rallied from a double-digit hole in the second half to knock off No. 2 Houston 70-67 at Hilton Coliseum on Monday night. That got the Cyclones to 23-3 on the season and handed Houston its second loss in Big 12 play.
The Cyclones opened the game on a 15-5 run Monday night, but ended up taking just a three-point lead into halftime. Emanuel Sharp scored all 16 of his points in the first half to keep Houston in it after he went 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
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Houston came out of the break hot, though, and took control of the game almost instantly. The Cougars went on an 18-6 run to open the second half and shut the Cyclones down offensively in a very stark contract from the first 20 minutes. It very much looked like Houston was poised to run away with it.
But, after going 1-of-11 from behind the arc in the second half, Iowa State responded. Jamarion Batemon drilled a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Cyclones in the lead again, and then Nate Heise followed it up with one of his own from the corner just moments later to keep the Cyclones up by two.
While Houston had one last look to tie it up, after Chris Cenac blocked Joshua Jefferson at the rim on the other end, Cenac missed a 10-footer that fell right into Blake Buchanan’s hands under the rim in the final seconds. That was enough to send the Cyclones, who ended the game on an extended 17-4 run, to the three-point win.
Kingston Flemings led Houston with 22 points and five rebounds after he went 9-of-15 from the field. Milos Uzan added 11 points to go with Sharp’s 16 first-half points. The loss snapped a six-game win streak for the Cougars, who will have to turn around and take on No. 4 Arizona and No. 8 Kansas in their next two games.
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Jefferson led Iowa State with 12 points and six rebounds, though he went just 1-of-5 from behind the arc. Heise added 11 points off the bench, and Buchanan added 10 points. Iowa State was fresh off a nearly 20-point win over No. 9 Kansas on Saturday.
The Cyclones have an equally rough finish to their regular season, including a stop at No. 23 BYU on Saturday and games against No. 13 Texas Tech and Arizona.
Though Monday night’s win will be a huge boost for the Cyclones, especially after their bad loss at unranked TCU last week, the Big 12 is still very much up for grabs. They still have a ways to go, but the Cyclones have played themselves right back into the mix to claim what would be their first regular-season conference title since 2001.
