No. 4 Iowa State marched into Salt Lake City, Utah and secured a 75-59 victory to end the cross-Utah road trip with a victory after dropping a contest to No. 19 BYU.
Shooting was not Iowa State’s strength in its win over Utah, shooting 47% from the field and 30% from deep.
Junior forward Milan Momcilovic broke the program record for most 3-pointers in a single season, surpassing Dedric Willoughby’s 1997 mark of 102. Momcilovic shot 4-for-8 from the 3-point line with 14 points in the win.
Senior forward Joshua Jefferson led the Cyclones with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Cyclones will return home for a contest with No. 16 Texas Tech at 3 p.m. Saturday on CBS.
“We’re excited to get back home after this trip, and we know how good Texas Tech is and really respect their program,” Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “And we’re excited for another great atmosphere at Hilton. We’ve had some terrific ones, especially recently. Look for another great one on Saturday.”
Defense fuels win No. 24
Iowa State’s defense held the Utah Utes to 17 points under their season average, leading to the Cyclones taking home win number 24 on the season.
The Cyclones forced 11 first-half turnovers while committing just five of their own, repeatedly disrupting Utah’s rhythm and converting defense into offense. Freshman Jamarion Batemon and seniors Nate Heise and Tamin Lipsey each recorded two steals in the opening 20 minutes.
Batemon was Iowa State’s most efficient player on the +/- scale at +24, recording 13 points in 23 minutes. No other Cyclone was above +14.
“He’s given us a spark,” Otzelberger said. “You look night in and night out at that plus minus and the energy he brings … He gives us a great scoring option out there.”
Freshman forward Dominykas Pleta added a block in the first half, continuing his physical presence inside. Pleta, who reportedly added 15 pounds of muscle since arriving in Ames, made his first career start Tuesday at Utah.
Pleta replaced junior forward Blake Buchanan, who was limited in practice leading up to the game.
“I’m feeling good,” Buchanan said. “I’ve had a little thing the last couple of days. But I was able to play through it. So it was good.”
The defensive pressure translated directly to the scoreboard. The Cyclones outscored the Utes 14-4 in points off turnovers, the exact 10-point margin that separated the teams at halftime.
After the break, Utah found more rhythm, briefly outperforming Iowa State in areas that have typically been Cyclone strengths, like opening the second half.
Still, Iowa State finished with just nine turnovers, half of Utah’s 18.
Free throws remain a work in progress
Iowa State finished 12-of-18 from the free-throw line, a 67% clip that mirrors its season average from the charity stripe. Free-throw shooting has been a season-long struggle for the Cyclones, who rank No. 343 nationally in the category. The Division I average sits at 72.4%.
Winning in one of the nation’s toughest venues
The Cyclones thrived even while playing in statistically one of the hardest places to play in college basketball.
KenPom’s home-court advantage (HCA) is calculated as the average scoring margin boost a team receives at home, adjusted for opponent strength and tempo using possession-based efficiency margins.
The Jon M. Huntsman Center ranks second nationally in home-court advantage, trailing only West Virginia. Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum ranks No. 16 on the list.
“Give a lot of credit to T.J. [Otzelberger] and Iowa State,” Utah Head Coach Alex Jensen said. “It’s a good team. They do a good job of their guys playing their roles. It’s hard to replicate that pressure.”
Quotes are provided from 247sports, the University of Utah Athletics and the Iowa State Radio Network.
