Iowa State basketball locks up TCU to stay undefeated at Hilton Coliseum

AMES - Jamie Dixon was right when he noted that the 27 turnovers his TCU team committed against Iowa State last month were “hard to fathom.” It was such a cartoonishly large number that the Cyclones certainly couldn’t replicate it in the teams’ rematch at Hilton Coliseum.

That proved to be correct, but, unfortunately for Dixon’s Horned Frogs, Iowa State’s defense has more than one form of torture at its disposal.

No. 14 Iowa State didn’t force a couple dozen turnovers, but the Cyclones did make life absolutely miserable for TCU offensively for long stretches in a decisive 71-59 victory Saturday afternoon.

The Horned Frogs (16-7, 5-5 Big 12) struggled to crack 30% shooting in the first half, and they found themselves down by as many as 17 in the second half. TCU’s shooting eventually improved – converting at a 55% mark in the second half – to keep things from getting out of hand, but the Cyclones (18-5, 7-3) hardly had to sweat down the stretch.

"They got the game the way they wanted it," Dixon said Saturday. "They wanted physical. They got physical.

"They knocked us all over the place."

TCU finished with 12 turnovers while shooting 44.2% from the floor.

Iowa State, which has boasted one of the nation’s top defenses in all three of coach T.J. Otzelberger’s seasons, has now won five of its last six and remains a half-game behind fifth-ranked Houston on the Big 12 leaderboard.

Tre King paced the Cyclones with 15 points while Keshon Gilbert had 13 to go along with seven assists. Curtis Jones hit a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 13 points.

Iowa State shot 50% from the field and 42% from 3-point range.

Different tactic, same result

TCU undoubtedly entered the game determined to take better care of the ball after their inexplicable ballhandling performance against the Cyclones in Fort Worth, and the Horned Frogs succeeded there. They didn't, however, solve the Cyclone defense.

They just encountered a different version of it.

"More than anything, our guys’ communication and connectiveness defensively showed up for us," Otzelberger said. "We didn’t get as many points off our defense as we would like. So we weren’t able to get as many run-outs or three-on-twos, fast-break situations."

TCU took a more deliberate approach, often taking the shot clock down to its final moments despite being one of the faster-playing offensive teams in the country. The Horned Frogs committed three shot clock violations.

"They are physical on drives," Dixon said of Iowa State. "I don’t know what we’re doing wrong on our drives, but we’re doing something wrong when we drive. There’s something I’m not getting.

"They do a good job of physicality on drives."

Without the live ball turnovers creating easy buckets for Iowa State, the Cyclones had to rely on their halfcourt offense. Iowa State finished with four players scoring at least eight points while assisting on 20 of 24 made shots.

"There’s nobody out there trying to do their own thing," Otzelberger said. "Everybody’s trying to make the right play for each other. That gives us great balance and makes us tough to prepare for."

Technical streak ends

Iowa State’s quirky streak of getting free points from its opponents ended Saturday.

Normally it would not be worth noting that an opposing head coach didn't get whistled for a technical foul. But Dixon became the first coach opposite the Iowa State sideline to be spared a technical in the last four games.

Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, Kansas’s Bill Self, Baylor’s Scott Drew (twice, plus a third on his assistant after Drew’s ejection) and Texas’ Rodney Terry were all rung up by officials while playing the Cyclones.

That amounts to six technical fouls in four games.

Dixon looked like he might be the fifth head coach to make the list early in the first half after some animated discussion with an official, but ultimately the situation was defused.

Up next

Iowa State returns to the road Tuesday with a trip to Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati. The Bearcats will welcome the Cyclones for a 6 p.m. contest on ESPN2.

Iowa State last played at Cincinnati in the 2015-16 season when the Cyclones outlasted the Bearcats, 81-79, at Fifth Third Arena, which has since been extensively renovated.

The road has not been entirely inhospitable to the Cyclones this season. Iowa State owns road wins at TCU and Texas, and the Cyclones were a tenth-of-a-second away from winning at Baylor as well.

Cincinnati entered play Saturday 15-7 overall and 5-7 in Big 12 play with a defense that ranks in the top 20 nationally.

"They’re a group we know it’s going to be another fight come Tuesday," Otzelberger said. "We know we’re going to need to be at our very best."

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 keeps pace in Big 12 race with win over TCU