Iowa State just reminded Kansas who controls the hardwood at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones dismantled the Jayhawks, 74-56, on Saturday afternoon, snapping Kansas’s eight-game winning streak and delivering their largest margin of victory over KU in a game played in Ames in series history.
This wasn’t a close game that got away from Kansas late. Iowa State’s defense suffocated the Jayhawks from the opening tip, and once the Cyclones found their offensive rhythm, they buried Bill Self’s team with a devastating second-half barrage.
Iowa State’s Defense Exposes Kansas’s Vulnerability
The Cyclones held Kansas to 56 points, tied for the Jayhawks’ lowest output of the season. For a team averaging 78 points per game, that’s a 22-point dropoff. Iowa State forced 13 turnovers, including 10 in the first half, and limited Kansas to 37.3% shooting from the field.
The most damaging performance came in the paint. Flory Bidunga, the Big 12’s field goal percentage leader at 68.6%, shot just 5-of-13 from the floor. It marked his second-worst shooting performance of the season in games with at least five attempts. The Cyclones’ length and physicality disrupted his rhythm all afternoon.
Darryn Peterson’s return didn’t provide the spark Kansas needed. The projected No. 1 pick finished with 10 points on 3-of-10 shooting in only 24 minutes, committing three turnovers while recording zero assists. Peterson wasn’t part of Kansas’s closing lineup, a decision Self attributed to conditioning concerns after Peterson missed the Arizona game with flu-like symptoms.
“I think it was just probably game flow and conditioning,” Self said postgame. “I tried to sub him because he’s been sick. So when he needed to come out at the end, I was thinking, ‘What do we do to give us the best chance to have success on Wednesday?'”
The Cyclones made just one of their first 10 shots but trailed only 6-2 during that stretch thanks to their defensive pressure. Once the offense found its footing, Iowa State went on a 20-2 run late in the first half to take a 36-22 lead with 1:37 remaining before the break. An Elmarko Jackson 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 37-27 at intermission, but the damage was done.
Milan Momcilovic led Iowa State with 18 points, pouring in 14 after halftime. The Cyclones opened the second half by making their first six three-point attempts, turning the 10-point halftime lead into a rout. Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Blake Buchanan, and Jamarion Bateman each contributed 11 points in a balanced attack.
What This Means for the Big 12 Race
The loss drops Kansas into a three-way tie at 9-3 in Big 12 play. Iowa State and Texas Tech share that same conference record, leaving the league’s title race wide open with weeks remaining before the conference tournament.
This was a revenge game for the Cyclones, who Kansas beat, 84-63, at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 13. That victory started Kansas’s now-extinguished winning streak. Saturday proved Iowa State’s road struggles haven’t infected their home dominance. The Cyclones are now 14-0 at Hilton Coliseum this season and 47-2 at home over the past three seasons.
Kansas’s issues extend beyond one bad afternoon. The Jayhawks’ half-court offense stagnates when Bidunga gets neutralized and Peterson can’t create separation. Self acknowledged the Big 12’s gauntlet nature and cautioned against overreaction.
“It’s a good chance it’s going to happen again. It’s a good chance Iowa State will lose again. This league is good, and especially away from home,” Self said. “I hope we react like men, because in February, when you play conference games and you play away from home, there’s a great chance that even the best teams leave unhappy. We just can’t let one become two.”
Both teams face immediate challenges. Iowa State hosts No. 3 Houston on Monday, while Kansas travels to Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
The Cyclones answered questions about their ability to beat elite competition at home. Kansas now carries questions about whether its defense can hold up without generating turnovers and whether Peterson’s durability will haunt them in March.