Kansas couldn't respond after surrendering an 8-0 run to end the first half, falling 74-57 to Iowa State in Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night. The Cyclones' defense flustered the Jayhawks all night, turning it over 17 times.
Curtis Jones went nuclear in the first half for the Cyclones, scoring 20 points and hitting two late threes to give Iowa State all the momentum heading into the break. He finished with 26 points to lead the game.
Kansas struggled to find any offense outside of Zeke Mayo, who finished with 17 points on 7/19 shooting. The frontcourt was hampered with foul trouble, as Hunter Dickinson scored just six points on 10 shots.
First half
The game unsurprisingly got off to a slugfest between two top-10 KenPom defensive teams. The two teams combined for five turnovers in the first five minutes. Zeke Mayo made an early three, but also smoked a layup as Iowa State held a 6-5 lead at the first media timeout.
Mayo continued to pace the offense with two more buckets. He scored off a backdoor cut to put the Jayhawks ahead 11-9. Easy looks were hard to come by, but Kansas converted some shots inside the paint.
Curtis Jones made consecutive threes out of the timeout to give Iowa State a four-point lead. He took over as the Cyclones pushed ahead. Dishon Jackson threw down two dunks and Jones made two tough buckets, giving Iowa State a 24-17 lead. AJ Storr answered the 6-0 spurt with a mid-range jumper.
Turnovers and foul troubles in the front court severely limited the offenses' output. Keshon Gilbert hit a fastbreak three to give the Cyclones' their biggest lead of the half at eight, 29-21.
Kansas looked to be cutting into the lead after Mayo and Rylan Griffen hit back-to-back threes. However, Jones caught fire again, hitting two threes in the final 90 seconds. He had 20 points in the first half as Iowa State went on an 8-0 run to close the half with a 40-30 lead.
Both teams turned it over 10 times, but Iowa State shot 48% from the floor and made 5/8 threes to have a comfortable lead at the half.
Second half
Iowa State opened the half with a layup but then went on a scoring drought of over three minutes. Kansas went on a 7-0 run over that stretch, cutting the deficit to five, 42-37. Turnovers continued to plague the Jayhawks, not allowing them to cut further into the lead.
Flory Bidunga made it a three-point game, but Iowa State responded with four straight points. Kansas went cold, being held scoreless for over two minutes. The Jayhawks struggled to go on another run, trading baskets with Iowa State. The Cyclones held a 53-45 lead at the under-eight timeout.
Kansas had a spurt left, scoring seven straight to make it a five-point game. However, Dickinson failed to box out after a missed free throw, leading to a back-breaking three from Tamin Lipsey and giving Iowa State a 61-52 lead with 4:10 to play.
Iowa State scored six straight to put the game to bed, pushing its lead to 68-55 with 1:48 to play. The Jayhawks will return home and play Kansas State on Saturday, Jan. 18.