LAWRENCE, Kan. — The unbeaten run is over for Iowa State basketball.
The No. 2-ranked Cyclones lost in the Phog, falling in a place that has historically given them a difficult time.
Kansas won in lopsided wire-to-wire fashion, 84-63, at Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
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Jamarion Batemon and Joshua Jefferson each had a team-high 12 points for the Cyclones.
For Kansas, Tre White finished with 19 points and made a season-high five 3-pointers. Darryn Peterson chipped in 16 points, while Melvin Council Jr. had 15.
Here are five numbers that stood out in the Cyclones’ first loss of the season:
20-2 — Kansas’ big first-half run, largest run allowed by Iowa State
The Jayhawks picked the Cyclones apart during a stretch that lasted 7:48 minutes.
Iowa State was several steps behind defensively. The Jayhawks got great ball movement and ran plenty of offense through the weak-side corner, resulting in drives, 3-pointers or easy dump-offs to the middle for an easy deuce once Iowa State defenders would close in to help.
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Peterson got the run started with a jumper to give Kansas a 24-14 lead with 9:45 left in the first half. The Jayhawks also drilled a series of 3-pointers during this overwhelming surge, with Elmarko Jackson and Council Jr. closing the run with back-to-back 3-pointers.
During this massive run by Kansas, Iowa State’s struggles carried over onto the offensive end. The Cyclones missed 15-of-16 shot attempts and committed four turnovers during this stretch.
This run was a catalyst for Kansas’ 44-point first half and for the Jayhawks taking command of the game early.
36.9% — Iowa State’s shooting percentage
Kansas’ defense had been inconsistent since Big 12 play began. In a loss to UCF, the Jayhawks allowed the Knights to shoot 51.3% in the first half, which helped UCF take a halftime lead and hang on for the win.
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In its most recent loss to West Virginia, Kansas allowed the Mountaineers to shoot 48.2% overall and 11-of-26 (42.3%) from 3-point range.
Against TCU, the Horned Frogs shot 63.3% in the second half of a high-scoring overtime affair, in which the Jayhawks were able to survive in a 104-100 win.
Kansas’ previous three Big 12 opponents shot a combined 46.2% overall and 39.3% from long range.
The Jayhawks put the clamps on the Cyclones, holding them to a season-low 36.9% from the field.
Iowa State’s previous season-low was 40.6% in the 70-60 win at Baylor on Jan. 7. The Cyclones never shot below 40% previously this season.
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The Cyclones improved in the second half after an ugly first half where they shot 24.2%. They shot 50.0% after the break.
28.9% — Iowa State’s “Big 3” (Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic) combined shooting percentage
When you dive deeper into the box score beyond team stats, the percentages and splits were not great for the Cyclones’ leading trio of Lipsey, Jefferson and Momcilovic.
The veteran trifecta combined for 33 points on 11-of-38 (28.9%) shooting, including a 5-for-16 (31.3%) clip from beyond the arc.
Lipsey finished with 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting, with three rebounds, five assists, two steals and one turnover. Kansas didn’t have any issue allowing him to shoot from the perimeter or long mid-range jumpers, sagging off the Ames native all evening.
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Jefferson had 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting with eight boards, three blocks, one assists and five turnovers. Kansas made life difficult for Jefferson inside and he had some head-scratching turnovers.
Momcilovic finished with 11 points on 3-of-9 shooting, including a 2-for-6 clip from long range.
9 — Turnovers by Kansas
The Jayhawks didn’t have many problems cracking the Cyclones’ defense or navigating their pressure. They had good ball movement and minimized their mistakes and giveaways.
Kansas committed just nine turnovers, which is the fewest by an Iowa State opponent this season. The Cyclones’ opportunistic attack only had four points off turnovers on Tuesday night. St. John’s had just 10 turnovers when the Cyclones came away with a one-point win in Las Vegas.
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Iowa State, on the other hand, committed 12 turnovers, which Kansas turned into 17 points the other way.
22 — Bench points by Iowa State’s Nate Heise and Jamarion Batemon
Although it was an all-around rough game for the Cyclones, they had a couple of bright spots off the bench.
Through 19 minutes, Jamarion Batemon scored all 12 of his points in the second half on 5-of-9 shooting, and added four steals. He was the only player in the Cyclones’ regular rotation to finish positive in plus-minus rating with +1.
As for Nate Heise, he provided a spark in the second half and knocked down a 3-pointer that prompted a Kansas timeout after he cut the deficit down to 11 — the lowest for the Cyclones in the second half.
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Iowa State ultimately never cut it down to single digits, but the pair played well in the lopsided loss.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 5 stats that explain Iowa State basketball’s loss to Kansas
