Iowa State basketball cruises past Oklahoma State in Big 12 matchup at Hilton Coliseum
AMES – A little wait was plenty worth it for Iowa State men’s basketball.
The Cyclones shrugged off a sloppy start and eventually pieced together an impressive 66-42 victory Saturday night over Oklahoma State in a game that was delayed a couple of hours due to the extreme winter weather sweeping through the state.
Oklahoma State (8-8, 0-3 Big 12) led for the game’s first 10 minutes, but Iowa State (13-3, 2-1) eventually took control and never ceded it back to the Cowboys.
"I was really proud of our guys, how they handled today because there was a lot of uncertainty," Iowa State T.J. Otzelberger said of the delay. "They didn't make excuses. They didn’t complain."
After gaining the lead, Iowa State never looked back, getting its lead to 20 just after the midway point of the second half.
Tamin Lipsey had 17 points to pace the Cyclones while Milan Momcilovic had 12 points and six rebounds. Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert both had five assists.
The win capped an undefeated homestand for Iowa State, which gave No. 2 Houston its first loss of the season Tuesday. The Cyclones have a pair of road games next week against BYU (Tuesday) and TCU (Saturday).
Travel woes
The game started 2 hours, 15 minutes later than originally scheduled as the weather conditions delayed Oklahoma State’s travel.
“Couldn’t get out (Friday) because of weather in Des Moines,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton tweeted Saturday afternoon. “Left Stillwater this morning at 6am for (Oklahoma City). Plane in OKC was grounded with maintenance shortly after we arrived.
“Was told to go to Norman and that a smaller plane could get us up there … shortly thereafter, told that the plane there is frozen (no de-ice equipment).”
Much of the state was under a "travel not advised" warning with wind chills nearing -40 degrees, and it limited the usually at-capacity Hilton Coliseum to about a third of its normal crowd.
"We’re a very habit-oriented and schedule-based team," Iowa State's Tre King said after registering 11 points and seven rebounds. "We do what we do, and we keep it very organized and precise, which I think carries over on the court. So today was definitely different for us, but the mission was still the mission.
"We all stayed ready."
Oklahoma State got off to a decent start, but faded throughout the game.
"I’m not an excuse guy," Boynton told reporters after the game. "Life’s hard. Bad stuff happens, and what you do is you show up when you have an opportunity to do your job and you do it to the best of your ability.
"We had a bunch of bad options, in all honesty. There’s the option to play (Sunday). Both teams play Tuesday. They’ve got to travel across the country (to BYU). Weather, you can’t really do anything to control it. We took the best of a lot of bad options.
"We played bad. We didn’t play well. The weather had nothing to do with how we played."
Hason Ward’s contributions continue to increase
Iowa State has unquestionably added a new dynamic to its game with the return of Hason Ward.
The 6-foot-9 senior missed the bulk of the non-conference schedule after having foot surgery, but has immediately given Iowa State an improved interior presence on both ends.
"He’s so disruptive," Otzelberger said. "His length, his athleticism, the way he’s pressuring the basketball now.
"He’s taken a big jump as a player."
Ward had 12 points and five rebounds against the Cowboys, and he’s added a vertical dimension to Iowa State’s offense as a lob threat near the rim.
"You always know he’s kind of lurking behind," Otzelberger said of Ward's ability to catch and finish lobs at the rim. "If (Ward's defender) commits to the drive and our guards just flip it up in the air, he’s going to go get it. It makes the defense tentative because they’re not sure if they should commit to the basketball or stay with him.
"When you have the combination of our guards who are able to get downhill the way they are and him as that lob threat, it’s really effective. It’s a great weapon."
Up next
Iowa State will quickly head west for its next game, a Tuesday night matchup in Provo against BYU.
The 17th-ranked Cougars earned their first-ever Big 12 win Saturday against UCF after dropping their first two league games to Cincinnati and Baylor. BYU is 13-3 overall.
The game will tip at 8 p.m. and be broadcast by ESPN+.
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball stays perfect at home with win over Cowboys
