Iowa State basketball: 3 takeaways from the Cyclones’ loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse

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LAWRENCE, Kan. − It’s back to the drawing board for Iowa State men’s basketball after suffering its third straight loss on Monday night.

The eighth-ranked Cyclones fell to No. 17 Kansas in a road rematch at Allen Fieldhouse, 69-52.

Iowa State trailed nearly the entire game on Monday night. Although Kansas wasted a 19-point halftime lead against Baylor on Saturday, the Jayhawks were never in jeopardy after taking a 35-19 lead at the break against the Cyclones.

More: Hines: As the court shrinks, so does Iowa State basketball’s Big 12 title hopes

They pushed their lead to as much as 23 points in the second half and the margin never fell below 15.

Iowa State’s Keshon Gilbert, Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson each had 11 points.

For Kansas, Zeke Mayo had 17 points and eight rebounds. Hunter Dickinson added 14 points, nine boards and four blocks. Dajuan Harris Jr. finished with 12 points, four boards and four assists.

Here are three takeaways from the Cyclones’ loss:

Iowa State struggles offensively again, needs solution for opponents’ defensive blueprint

As each game passes without Milan Momcilovic (hand injury), it seems like every Cyclone opponent is building off of the blueprint that the previous team created to defend against Iowa State.

West Virginia exploited the limited spacing with Momcilovic out, packed the paint and dared the Cyclones to shoot from deep. They shot just 1-of-17 from beyond the arc in that Jan. 18 loss.

At the time, perhaps it was a one-off, especially as Iowa State rebounded with a season-high 108 points in a win over UCF, then a gutsy win at Arizona State.

Now, during Iowa State’s three-game losing streak, the Cyclones are struggling to generate consistent offense and find a solution.

Iowa State’s half-court offense hasn’t been effective. With no scoring threats off the bench, opponents only have three guards to worry about and the occasional offensive punch from one of the Cyclones’ big men. The Cyclones haven’t been a big threat from the perimeter, so…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-state-basketball-3-takeaways-114145456.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-02-04 11:41:00

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