Iowa State remained undefeated with a win over rival Iowa, but it did not come as expected. The Cyclones needed to mount a comeback to avoid the upset, which head coach T.J. Otzelberger was proud of his team for.
Otzelberger believes the turning point of Iowa State's 66-62 victory came at halftime, when he challenged his team to be more physical. The veteran head coach admitted he did not like how the Cyclones played without urgency in the first half.
“I think certainly in the first half they were the more physical team, right?” Otzelberger said after the game, via 247 Sports. “They were more physical defensively, they were more physical offensively, and I think certainly challenging our guys at halftime, knowing that was going to be a big part of it. Our ball pressure, generating turnovers, scoring off our turnovers. I felt like, even in the first half, sometimes on a turnover, we walked it up.”
Iowa State was down by as much as 13 in the college basketball rivalry, but used a 19-0 run to turn the game on its head. Senior forward Joshua Jefferson hit a three-pointer to close the deficit to 33-25 at the end of the first half, and the Cyclones scored 16 unanswered points out of halftime to take the lead.
Otzelberger's team also won the turnover battle, forcing 16 takeaways while committing just nine giveaways. The Cyclones recorded 11 steals, including four from senior guard Tamin Lipsey.
Jefferson led the team with 24 points on 7-for-14 from the floor. Lipsey was the second-leading scorer with 14 points, while junior forward Milan Momcilovic also reached double figures with 10.
Tavion Banks led Iowa with just 14 points in a losing effort. Iowa State held star Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz to just 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.
