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Iowa State Keeps Going After The Cyclones Beat ASU To Advance In The Big 12 Tournament

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Basketball

No. 7 Iowa State (26-6, 12-6 Big 12) cruised to a second-round victory in the Big 12 Tournament Wednesday Afternoon, downing Arizona State (17-16, 7-11 Big 12) for the second-consecutive game by a score of 91-42. Iowa State's 49-point victory was the largest in Big 12 Tournament history.

The Cyclones have now won at least one game in KC in each of the last four seasons. The Sun Devils were held to just 42 points, marking the first Big 12 team to score under 50 in a tournament game since Houston in the title game against ISU in 2024.

Iowa State picked up where it left off on Saturday, forcing 15 ASU turnovers in the first stanza to set the tone. The Cyclones would lead the Sun Devils 45-16 at the break, tying the Big 12 Tournament record for largest halftime lead in event history. ISU would finish with 23 turnovers forced, matching the game in Ames, and meaning it forced 46 combined turnovers against ASU over the last two contests.

The Cyclones were led offensively by Milan Momcilovic, who had a game-high 21 points, canning four triples. Joshua Jefferson had a monster 20-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Blake Buchanan chipped in 17 points with six boards. Tamin Lipsey would finish with 11 points, four assists and two steals.

Arizona State's Santiago Troeut was the only Sun Devil to finish in double figures, as the wing had 13 points with nine made free throws. The prolific Arizona State backcourt of Moe Odum and Pig Johnson was held to just eight combined points.

How it Happened
Each side got off to a rough start, as the teams combined for five turnovers in the first two minutes. ISU broke the scoring seal at the 17:58 mark, getting on the board with a Momcilovic layup.

ISU would quickly establish a 7-0 lead and never look back as it led wire-to-wire. A 16-0 run at the 8:30 mark would push ISU's lead to 30 as it established a 40-10 advantage over ASU.

The Sun Devils ended the first half on a 4-0 run to finish with 16 first-half points. For the Cyclones, the 16 points allowed were the fewest since it hosted Grambling in 2024.

The Cyclones would coast to a 49-point win in the second half, outshooting the Sun Devils by nearly 20 percent from the floor. ASU was limited to just five percent from deep, making only one of 19 attempts.

Key Performer
Blake Buchanan had a season-high 17 points, dominating his matchup with Massamba Diop. Outside of his 17-point, six-rebound performance, Buchanan also added a pair of steals to his well-rounded game.

Notes

  • T.J. Otzelberger picked up his 22nd win on a neutral court as ISU's head coach – the third most in school history.
    • Otz also earned his sixth Big 12 Tournament win, tying him for the third-most by an ISU head coach.
    • Otzelberger has led ISU to 99 wins over the last four seasons, tying the second-best four-year stretch in program history.
    • Otz has led ISU to 26 wins this year, the fourth-most in a single season in school history.
  • The duo of Milan Momcilovic and Jamarion Batemon has now canned 167 3-pointers this season – the second-most by an ISU duo in school history.
  • Milan Momcilovic now has 16 made 3-pointers at the Big 12 Tournament, the second-most in ISU history.
    • Momcilovic has made 118 3-pointers this season, tied for the fifth-most in Big 12 history.
    • Momcilovic is now 23rd in school history in scoring (1,273).
  • Tamin Lipsey eclipsed 300 career steals, becoming the first in school history to do so. He is the third player in Big 12 history to eclipse the mark.
    • Lipsey now has 10 made 3-pointers at the Big 12 Tournament, the fifth-most in school history.
    • Lipsey also now has 31 assists at the Big 12 Tournament, the second-most in program history.
    • Lipsey is up to 64 steals this season, tying for the 15th-most in school history.
  • Joshua Jefferson has scored 10-plus points in all 32 games this season.
    • Jefferson wen over 500 rebounds as a Cyclone.
  • Nate Heise picked up his 100th win at Iowa State.

Up Next
[5] Iowa State will face [4] Texas Tech tomorrow in the third round of the Big 12 Tournament. No. 16 Texas Tech will be playing in its first game after earning a double bye. Thursday's game is set to tip off at 11:30 am and will be televised on ESPN.