What we learned from Iowa State's 86-55 victory over Idaho State in men's basketball

AMES — The Iowa State men's basketball team took advantage of a big edge in size and athleticism to overpower Idaho State, 86-55, Sunday at Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones overcame poor outside shooting by forcing 24 turnovers and holding a 48-42% edge in field-goal accuracy to improve to 3-0 overall. ISU had tremendous balance on offense led by 16 points apiece from Tre King and Keshon Gilbert.

Curtis Jones added 14 points and two assists, Milan Momcilovic 11 points, Hasan Ward and Robert Jones eight points apiece and Tamin Lipsey six points and five assists.

"I'd say great focus to get through that first week," said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger. "With a group of a lot of new guys and some younger guys that have never done this before, their ability to stay focused at game-day practice and in the games — I felt like we did a pretty good job of that overall. We've played a lot of guys and given opportunities, so you learn what lineups work better and what combinations work better."

Idaho State fell to 1-2. The Bengals were paced by 15 points from Maleek Arington.

Here is what we learned from Iowa State's third decisive victory in a row to start the 2023-2024 season.

Tre King and Robert Jones provide early spark

Tre King and Robert Jones combined for 20 points in the first half to help ISU take control.

King scored the Cyclones' first six points as part of a 17-0 run that put Iowa State in the driver's seat.

King took full advantage of his powerful and athletic 6-foot, 7-inch, 230-pound frame to wreak havoc inside. At 6-10, Jones' length gave the Bengals some issues and like King, he made some excellent hustle plays on defense.

Hasan Ward also gave Iowa State a lift inside off the bench.

"I felt like Tre was really playing well getting to the basket and the offensive glass (and) Rob has been terrific," Otzelberger said. "Hasan, as a lob threat underneath, is what we needed to get him going on and he's a great offensive rebounder. Those guys did a really good job."

For the game King had two rebounds and three steals to go along with his 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting. King could have put up bigger numbers, but he suffered an ankle injury in the second half.

Jones followed up a 12-point night during Thursday's 102-47 victory over Lindenwood with eight points, four rebounds and three steals in 21 minutes.

"We've got an in-the-paint mentality right now," said Jones. "We've got to make sure we get in the paint before we start getting outside of the paint and kick out for 3s."

Jones is averaging just under 10 points. His improved offensive production will come in handy once Big 12 play starts.

But all Jones is worried about is making his team better.

"I'm not even focusing (on) it," Jones said. "I'm focusing on the stuff I do well, which is talking on defense, encouraging my teammates and being a good leader. The offense just kind of follows suit. I'm not focusing on trying to do certain things on offense, I'm just trying to play my game."

Aggressive defense helps ISU shake off rusty shooting night

After shooting nearly 40% from 3-point range over its first two games, Iowa State did not make a 3-point shot until the second half Sunday.

The Cyclones were 0-for-4 from downtown in the first half and just 4-for-13 for the game. But Otzelberger can live with that when his team forces 20+ turnovers and finishes with 17 steals.

"For us defensively, we're going to be at our best when we create live-ball turnovers and go in transition," Otzelberger said. "We were able to do that and score a good amount of points in the paint and at the rim, which made up for the lack of perimeter shooting, especially in that first half."

Lipsey had four steals and Omaha Biliew two to go along with King and Robert Jones' production.

Curtis Jones hit two of Iowa State's 3-pointers and Momcilovic and Jackson Paveletzke each hit one.

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Iowa State tops Idaho State in men's basketball, 86-55