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A little something extra
Iowa State's impressive win over Kansas was what you'd expect from one of the sport's toughest teams. But Wednesday also featured some incredible overtime games, including two that went to triple OT. Plus, we dive into the rest of the night's results to know.
Sean Paul
January 16, 2025
Good morning! No, the players in the Big South didn’t suddenly get younger on Wednesday night. They just had a guy who insisted on storming the court.
Let’s dive into the Wednesday action.
1. No. 2 Iowa State stymies Kansas
Hilton Magic never fails. Having Curtis Jones also helps.
No. 2 Iowa State handled No. 9 Kansas, 74-57, in front of a frenzied home crowd on Wednesday night thanks to a little more hustle, some fine defensive plays and a monster first half from Jones.
The Cyclones (15-1, 5-0 in Big 12) didn’t have starting forward Milan Momcilovic (out indefinitely with a broken finger on his non-shooting hand), so Jones, the Big 12’s second-leading scorer, replaced him in the starting lineup.
Jones was hot from the jump, scoring 20 first-half points, including a logo 3 with 28 seconds left in the half. He finished with 25 points, including another logo 3 to end the game.
He was one of four Iowa State players in double-figures. Dishon Jackson (17 points) and Joshua Jefferson (10 points, 10 rebounds) were big inside, while Tamin Lipsey tallied 10 points, including a dagger 3 that gave Iowa State a 9-point lead with just over four minutes to play.
It wasn’t all Jones, though. Iowa State’s defense made Kansas (12-4, 3-2) miserable all night. It shot 40.7% from the field, committed 17 turnovers and scored just .79 points per possession, its worst performance of the season.
Zeke Mayo was the only Kansas player in double figures with 17 points. Hunter Dickinson (3-of-10, four fouls and turnovers) never looked comfortable. Any time Kansas got close — it trailed by two late in the first half, and by five with 5:37 remaining — Iowa State made the plays that mattered.
Self on tonight's loss: "I don't want to spin this negatively; it wasn't a lack of effort. It was a lack of really understanding and respecting how competitive you had to be to be successful in this game. Guys still tried. You don't get a ribbon for trying." #KUbball
— Matt Tait (@mctait)
3:08 AM • Jan 16, 2025
Iowa State, which owns the nation’s longest win streak (12 games) heads to Morgantown this weekend, while Kansas will look to take anger out on rival Kansas State in Lawrence.
2. A wild night of overtime games
A typical college hoops night will feature a couple OT games, and maybe a double OT finish. But Wednesday was something else with two triple-overtime games, two double OTs and another that “only” went to overtime.
I need some coffee after staying up to watch it all.
