Iowa State basketball: 4 takeaways from Cyclones’ win over Mississippi Valley State

AMES − Iowa State men’s basketball opened its season with a 83-44 win over Mississippi Valley State on Monday night.

The Cyclones had four players score in double figures: Keshon Gilbert (17 points), Tamin Lipsey (16), Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson (10 each).

“I feel like everyone’s getting their groove back,” Lipsey said. “We’re gonna see a lot more shots going in as we play more games, but just the aggressiveness out of everyone, getting into the paint first and kicking out for threes is something we’re looking for and just staying aggressive, I like to see that.”

Here are four takeaways from Iowa State’s victory:

Starting five unveiled, Momcilovic comes off the bench

There was plenty of discussion among fans surrounding what the Cyclones’ starting five would look like. With a new-look frontcourt and a bunch of key returners, head coach T.J. Otzelberger had plenty of options when choosing his starting five.

Lipsey and Gilbert reprised their starting roles, while Jefferson, Curtis Jones and Dishon Jackson earned the nod as starters.

Jones served as the sixth man for the Cyclones last season, and Momcilovic was a full-time starter in his freshman year.

“That group’s had great energy together,” Otzelberger said of how he landed on his starting five. “Curt’s probably, since midway through last season, offensively, has been really good. Milan’s been great in practice as we brought him in as a sub with that group. It’s what we’re going with right now.

“Certainly, we have at least six guys, if not more, that we could easily start and that could change at any point, but right now, that’s the lineup that we feel has given us the best energy to start the game.

New frontcourt looked solid in season opener

It didn’t take long for Iowa State’s new-look frontcourt unit to introduce itself to Cyclone fans.

Jefferson and Jackson were in the starting five, and along with Brandton Chatfield, they accounted for eight of Iowa State’s first 13 points.

Jefferson showed his hustle and dove for a loose ball in the opening moments of the game. He made an impact on both ends of the court, finishing with 10 points, six boards and four steals. Jefferson picked his spots and was efficient scoring in the paint.

Jackson logged nine points, six rebounds and had one block. He had a two-hand slam dunk and showed his athleticism from the low block.

“I think we mesh really well together,” Jefferson said of starting alongside Jackson in the frontcourt. “We play off each other really good. We have a good relationship off the court, so I think it makes it very smooth when we get on the floor and we know what each other likes to play like.”

Chatfield had four points and five rebounds, all on the offensive glass, through 10 minutes of action.

J.T. Rock also made his first appearance since redshirting last season. He played the final three minutes of the game.

“Dishon and Joshua did a good job of getting us started, they’re both really skilled players that can score the basketball − even better than what we saw tonight − was pleased with how they played for the most part,” Otzelberger said of his frontcourt’s performance. “We got to continue to go into them, especially Dishon’s got a good touch in there. Brandt had some nerves early, but he was awesome on the offensive glass.

“Overall, all three guys are really good players and they’re going to have a huge impact for us, but we got to continue to work and those guys will continue to climb.”

A glimpse into pecking order for the rest of the Cyclones’ rotation

Aside from the starting five, and Momcilovic as the sixth man for now, it looks like Chatfield, true freshman Nojus Indrusaitis and Northern Iowa transfer Nate Heise are the other go-to guys off the bench.

Indrusaitis got his first collegiate points late in the first half, scoring back-to-back baskets including a fast-break dunk. Indrusaitis had eight points on 3-of-6 shooting, with an assist.

“He had good energy, he’s a good basketball player,” Otzelberger said. “As a bigger guard, he can really drive the basketball, make plays for himself and his teammates and you saw that there today. He’ll continue to grow defensively.

“It was a good first performance for him as a freshman, our lone true freshman, and he’s continued to build confidence.”

Heise had a quieter night on the scoring end, but played 15 clean minutes on the floor. He only took three shots and finished with three points. He also had a rebound, two assists and made two steals on defense.

Suffocating defense, strong slashing and cold three-point shooting in winning effort

Mississippi Valley State is no offensive juggernaut, but Iowa State flexed its muscles on defense during its two big runs.

The Cyclones went on a 23-2 run late in the first half, a stretch that spanned over nine minutes in which they also forced seven turnovers.

Iowa State also opened the second half with a 20-7 run.

All in all, the Cyclones forced 24 turnovers and converted them into 26 points. They also held Mississippi Valley State to shooting 19-of-51 overall (37.3%), including a 1-for-12 clip from long range (8.3%).

Offensively, Iowa State looked best when it was aggressive in getting to the basket. The Cyclones shot 23-of-38 (60.5%) inside the arc and they got to the free-throw line at a high clip, where they made 22-of-29 foul shots (75.9%).

It was a cold-shooting night from long range though, as the Cyclones shot just 5-of-21 (23.8%) from deep, but the Cyclones generated a lot of good, open looks.

“Lot of things to work on,” Otzelberger said. “Offensively, we practice great with rhythm and flow. Tonight, it felt like the ball didn’t move as well as it needed to, it got stuck at times, so offensively we have to be more intentional about moving it.”

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.