Armed with a major homecourt benefit for maybe the primary time in class historical past, the group on the Moody Middle on Tuesday night urged the prepared No. 8 Texas Longhorns to a dominant 72-54 victory over the No. 23 Iowa State Cyclones to keep up tempo within the race for the Large 12 regular-season title.
The end result was by no means critically doubtful after a 16-0 run by the Longhorns halfway by the primary half. Texas held Iowa State scoreless for lengthy stretches and was usually scorching scorching offensively, in the end capturing 47.4 % from the sector and 42.9 % from three because the depth lagged at instances within the second half, particularly out of the break.
Former Iowa State guard Tyrese Hunter was locked in on each ends in scoring 15 factors with 5 assists and fellow guard Sir’Jabari Rice continued a stretch of robust performances with 15 factors of his personal, 10 of which got here within the decisive first half.
In a balanced efficiency from the complete guard corps, Marcus Carr added 13 factors and 5 assists whereas Brock Cunningham had a serious affect on the sport that his field rating of eight factors, 4 assists, and three steals can’t totally elucidate — the performs he made merely got here in key moments that created the insurmountable margin for the visiting staff.
Credit score as properly to ahead Christian Bishop, who solely scored three factors, however had a game-best plus/minus of 29 factors.
Much like the robust begin for Texas in Ames, Iowa State was scorching early in Austin, happening an 8-0 run earlier than the under-16 timeout due to 4-of-6 capturing begin for the Cyclones. Ball denial on off-ball screens by Iowa State pressured a fast adjustment by Texas — engaged on the wing by Cunningham or ahead Timmy Allen. Because the visiting staff cooled off from the sector, Texas surged to a 12-0 run with threes from Carr and Rice, capped by a pump-fake drive from Rice that pressured a timeout.
Out of the timeout, full-court strain by the Horns pressured a 10-second violation by the Cyclones, additional igniting a raucous crowd within the Temper. With Iowa State throwing a zone at Texas, Carr hit a troublesome jumper and a steal resulted in Rice taking a visit to the free-throw line after the under-12 timeout, extending the run to 16 unanswered factors and a 20-10 lead earlier than Allen took a cost proper in his chest, the seventh turnover by the Cyclones.
Iowa State lastly broke the 5:50 scoreless drought with a three-point play as Texas guard Arterio Morris got here off the bench to attain 5 fast factors, then Cyclones sharpshooter Gabe Kalscheur hit two threes in a flurry of shotmaking. To stem the surge by Iowa State, Hunter hit a 3 and the defensive depth ramped up once more earlier than a deflection despatched the sport into the under-eight timeout.
A layup on a minimize off the ball and a 3 off an help from Carr prolonged the result in 12 factors for the Longhorns earlier than Texas pressured one other turnover by Iowa State and Morris hit a heat-check three for an 11-0 run. When Bishop handed out of a double staff to start out a sequence that discovered Carr for a 3 and Allen hit a jumper, the Cyclones had been really reeling dealing with an 18-point deficit and one other timeout to speak issues over.
The lead stretched to twenty factors after Rice and Carr each hit extra threes and the protection continued to power troublesome possessions by Iowa State, in the end heading into halftime with a 47-29 lead due to 54.8-percent capturing from the sector and 56.3-percent capturing from three along with a 21-8 benefit in factors off turnovers.
Seven empty possessions to open the second half highlighted more practical trapping for Iowa State baiting passes into the corners and total poor offensive execution by Texas. Happily for the Longhorns, the Cyclones weren’t capable of take benefit on the offensive finish, gaining only a 2-0 benefit heading into the under-16 timeout.
Cunningham hit a 3 late within the shot clock to lastly open the scoring for the Horns within the second half after greater than 5 minutes, then hitting a financial institution shot. Because the Cyclones hit three straight pictures from the sector, Cunningham helped keep the margin together with his robust offensive play, hitting one other financial institution shot and drawing a foul on the under-12 timeout.
The sport misplaced depth for a major stretch as Texas missed 2-of-7 pictures previous to the under-four timeout and Terry known as for a break with 5:08 remaining when Iowa State minimize the result in 14 factors with a plodding 7-0 run damaged by a jumper and a dunk from Allen again off the bench adopted by a 3 from Rice to finish any doubt.
Tied as soon as once more with Kansas for the Large 12 lead, Texas hits the highway on Saturday for an additional essential matchup with No. 9 Baylor in Waco.
