The Iowa State basketball team remained undefeated at home this season, after defeating Houston on Monday night in Ames. It was a huge win for the Cyclones, who are once again near the top of the Big 12 conference.
Iowa State leaned on their effective ball handling to win Monday's clash.
“Iowa State played without a turnover the last 18 minutes, 10 seconds of the game against Houston, which is ninth nationally in forcing turnovers,” Iowa State sports columnist Travis Hines posted to X, formerly Twitter.
The Cyclones won the game, 70-67. Iowa State shot 49 percent from the field to win the game. Houston lost for just the third time this year.
“Iowa State's good,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said, per ESPN. “It's not an easy place to come in and win. I'm disappointed we didn't win. I'm not disappointed in our effort.”
Iowa State basketball is now 23-3 on the season following the win.
Iowa State overcame free throw woes to beat Houston
The Cyclones are one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the Big 12 this season. Those issues at the charity stripe continued on Monday. Iowa State made just 50 percent of their shots from the free-throw line in the game.
It ultimately didn't hurt the Cyclones. Iowa State was able to protect the basketball and make some shots. The Cyclones got a huge performance from Nate Heise. Heise hit a go-ahead three point shot in the final seconds of the contest.
“Of all the games from him as a Cyclone, tonight stands out as the one that was most elite,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said of Heise. “The confidence he's playing with is awesome.”
Heise said he had no other choice but to shoot in that late-game situation.
“I really think it was one of the easier mindset things, because you really got no other choice. You're not going to be able to pass the ball; there's not enough time,” Heise said. “So, when you've got no other choice and it's just kind of muscle memory, you just know how much is on the shot clock and what you've got to do.
“It really was the only option.”
Iowa State next plays at BYU on Saturday.
