Izaiah Brockington scored 15 points, and Tyrese Hunter had 14. As part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, 23 Iowa State beat Missouri 67-50. Brockington converted eight of his free throws and made three 3-pointers to win the Cyclones (16-5). With 15 points, DaJuan Gordon was the Missouri leader (8-12). Amari Davis scored 11. T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State coach, said that Amari Davis scored 11. We’ve seen it from him throughout the year. He’s relentless. He is a great source of energy and determination. You can expect things to turn around when you do that.” Iowa State shot 58.3% during the second half, forcing 18 Missouri turnovers. With a 15-0 run in halftime, the Cyclones took control and built a 49-34 lead.
Caleb Grill, Brockington and Aljaz Kuc each made consecutive 3-pointers during this scoring spree that pulled Iowa State from an early slump. Kunc finished with 11 points. “We were looking to make a great shot, and we made some.” Missouri missed 10 of its 11 first half shots. Missouri started Saturday shooting 27.2% from 3-point range, but it hit three of its first six shots behind the arc. Ronnie DeGray III made the Tigers’ third 3-pointer. This capped a 9-2 run that gave Missouri an initial 25-20 lead. The Cyclones only made one of their first ten 3-point attempts and shot 34% overall during the first half.
Iowa State led 32-29 at halftime, but that didn’t stop them from going on an 8-0 run. Otzelberger stated that “our guys were doing an excellent job setting the tone when it came over half court and disrupting right away.” “We communicated when switching screens to ensure we were staying in front.” BIG PICTURE Iowa State concluded a successful week. After losing five of seven games, the Cyclones won three days earlier against Oklahoma State (84-81 overtime), snapping a 24-game conference road losing streak. Missouri has lost five of six games in a row.
Iowa State hosts No. 5 Kansas will host No. Florida hosts Missouri on Wednesday