Iowa State basketball: 3 takeaways from the Cyclones’ win over UCF

[ad_1]

ORLANDO, Fla. − Of the Big 12 Conference teams that Iowa State basketball plays twice this season the Cyclones notched their first regular-season series sweep of the season Tuesday by dispatching UCF.

Iowa State had a narrow two-point halftime lead before pulling away in the second half to win, 77-65.

The Cyclones previously defeated UCF, 108-83, last month at Hilton Coliseum.

Keshon Gilbert had a team-high 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting, with seven rebounds and four assists. Joshua Jefferson added 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. Tamin Lipsey had 11 points, while Curtis Jones finished with 10.

Here are three takeaways from the Cyclones’ win:

Iowa State had offensive contributions from nearly everywhere

With the exception of Milan Momcilovic, the seven other players in the Cyclones’ eight-man rotation all chipped in eight or more points. There was no player who singlehandedly took over the game, but there were timely contributions from all over.

Although Momcilovic only had three points on 1-of-7 shooting, it was another instance where the Cyclones saw improved ball movement, spacing and distribution thanks to his recent return from injury. They finished with more assists than turnovers for the second straight game, tallying 17 assists and 11 turnovers.

“Definitely just the ball movement we had, the action that we got to on offense has been great the past two games,” Lipsey said of the Cyclones’ balance Tuesday night. “I’m sure that has to do with Milan coming back, but our spacing is great, everyone’s just moving the ball, everyone’s touching it and everyone’s feeling good about their offense and getting different looks.”

More: Iowa State basketball: Balanced attack, defense key in Cyclones’ win over UCF

Jones had all 10 of his points in the first half. Gilbert was able to attack downhill and had 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half.

The frontcourt combination of Jefferson and Dishon Jackson was crucial to start the second half. They…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-state-basketball-3-takeaways-115518903.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-02-12 11:55:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.