Iowa State seems to be prefer it’s totally again on monitor.
The Cyclones, after a tough loss in Fort Worth early final week, have now gained back-to-back top-10 matchups within the Big 12 within the span of simply three days.
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No. 6 Iowa State rallied from a double-digit hole within the second half to knock off No. 2 Houston 70-67 at Hilton Coliseum on Monday evening. That bought the Cyclones to 23-3 on the season and handed Houston simply its second loss in Big 12 play.
The Cyclones opened the sport on a 15-5 run on Monday evening, however ended up taking only a three-point lead into halftime. Emanuel Sharp scored all 16 of his factors within the first half to hold Houston in it after he went 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Houston got here out of the break scorching, although, and took management of the sport virtually immediately. They went on an 18-6 run to open the second half, which included a mini 9-0 burst, and shut the Cyclones down offensively in a really stark contract from the primary 20 minutes. It very a lot appeared like Houston was poised to run away with it.
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But, after going 1-of-11 from behind the arc within the second half, Iowa State lastly responded. Jamarion Batemon drilled a wide-open 3-pointer to put the Cyclones within the lead once more, after which Nate Heise adopted it up with one among his personal from the nook simply moments later to hold the Cyclones up by two.
While Houston had one final look to tie it up, after Chris Cenac blocked Joshua Jefferson on the rim on the opposite finish, Cenac missed a 10-footer that fell proper into Blake Buchanan’s palms underneath the rim within the last seconds. That was sufficient to ship the Cyclones, who ended the sport on an prolonged 17-4 run, to the three-point win.
Kingston Flemings led Houston with 22 factors and 5 rebounds after he went 9-of-15 from the sector. Milos Uzan added 11 factors to go together with Sharp’s 16 first-half factors. The loss snapped a six-game win streak for the Cougars, who could have to flip round and tackle No. 4 Arizona and No. 8 Kansas of their subsequent two video games.
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Jefferson led Iowa State with 12 factors and 6 rebounds, although he went simply 1-of-5 from behind the arc. Heise added 11 factors off the bench, and Buchanan added 10 factors. Iowa State was recent off a virtually 20-point win over No. 9 Kansas on Saturday. The Cyclones have an equally tough end to their season, too, together with a cease at No. 23 BYU on Saturday and video games towards No. 13 Texas Tech and Arizona.
Though Monday evening’s win will likely be an enormous enhance for the Cyclones, particularly after their unhealthy loss at unranked TCU final week, the Big 12 remains to be very a lot up for grabs. They nonetheless have a methods to go, however the Cyclones have performed themselves proper again into the combination to declare what could be their first regular-season convention title since 2001.