Ames, Iowa ? Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy feared the Cyclones were beginning to believe they were as good as everybody said they were.
So Eustachy tore into the Cyclones at halftime of their 79-71 victory over the Jayhawks on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.
“You should have seen him,” marveled ISU senior forward Paul Shirley. “He just went ballistic, and rightfully so.”
And just what had the No. 7 Cyclones (22-3 overall, 10-2 Big 12) done to draw Eustachy’s ire? After building a nine-point lead against the No. 6-but-sure-to-fall Jayhawks, ISU gave up a steal and three-pointer at the halftime buzzer that pulled Kansas within a point at 37-36.
“I was really, really frustrated with this team at halftime,” Eustachy said. “I thought a lot of coaching was going in one ear and out the other. They see all these stories, and I thought they were starting to believe what they were reading. So, I felt fortunate to win under the circumstances.”
The circumstance now is that ISU has all but clinched the league title. The Cyclones have a two-game lead over the Jayhawks (19-5, 8-4) with four games to play.
“It can be short-lived,” Eustachy said, “but I’d rather be where we are than where everybody else is.”
The Cyclones reached the verge of their second straight league title thanks to some surprising contributions Saturday from a couple of freshman.
Guard Jake Sullivan hit eight of 11 shots and six of eight three-pointers to score a game- and career-high 22 points, and swingman Shane Power hit four of four threes to add a career-best 18 off the bench.
“If you had told me those two would be first and second in scoring,” Eustachy said, “I would have been very surprised.”
The Cyclones needed the darling yearlings’ contributions to make up for an off night by senior leader Jamaal Tinsley. After spending the early part of the week in Brooklyn to be with his ailing grandmother, Tinsley returned to Ames on Wednesday. On Saturday, he hit just one of 13 field goals but still finished with 11 points, 11 assists, six steals and just two turnovers.
“I’m very proud of the way he bounced back,” Eustachy said. “You could see how it affected him. But a 1-for-13 Jamaal Tinsley on the court late is better than anybody we have.”
Eustachy’s biggest dilemma Saturday was finding playing time for his two fabulous freshmen. Sullivan played 15 of his 24 minutes and scored 14 of his 22 points in the first half. Included in his three-point binge was a 30-footer late in the first half.
Sullivan’s minutes went to Power in the second half, and Power responded by hitting three of his four treys after the break.
Kansas | 36 | 35 | 71 |
Iowa State | 37 | 42 | 79 |
Attendance: 14,092
“I hope those two understand how special this is,” Eustachy said, pointing out his starting lineup consists of four seniors and a freshman. “The problem is, we basically have two people for one spot.”
Eustachy did his best to walk the line between the importance of the victory ISU’s ninth straight overall, 34th straight at home and fifth straight over KU while still giving the Jayhawks their props.
“They’re shorthanded,” Eustachy said, referring to Kansas’ playing without Drew Gooden, Luke Axtell and Mario Kinsey. “We caught Kansas at an all-time effort coming into this game. With Drew back and Axtell, they’re a different team.”
Still, the Cyclones think Kansas is pretty good.
“They’ve got that aura about them, like Carolina or Duke,” Sullivan said. “To win the conference, you have to beat them. And they outdetermined us at times today.”
Iowa State has four regular-season games to play at Kansas State, at Texas and at home against Texas Tech and Nebraska.
“We just have to realize that the league championship is within our grasp,” said Shirley, a Meriden native. “We just have to stay focused.”
“Most people, most teams around the country, when you talk about the Big 12, the first team they think about is Kansas,” Power added. “Hopefully, with what we did this year and last year, we’re changing that.”
Three-point goals: 8-15 (Hinrich 3-4, Boschee 3-8, Gregory 2-2, Nash 0-1). Assists: 14 (Boschee 5, Hinrich 4, Ballard 3, Collison 2). Turnovers: 22 (Hinrich 7, Collison 6, Chenowith 4, Boschee 2, Gregory 1, Ballard 1, Carey 1). Blocked shots: 7 (Collison 4, Chenowith 2, Boschee 1). Steals: 5 (Hinrich 3, Boschee 2). |
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Three-point goals: 10-19 (Sullivan 6-8, Power 4-4, Rancik 0-1, Horton 0-2, Tinsley 0-4). Assists: 18 (Tinsley 11, Horton 5, Sullivan 1, Power 1). Turnovers: 12 (Horton 3, Shirley 2, Tinsley 2, Sullivan 2, Pearson 2, Power 1). Blocked shots: 2 (Shirley 2). Steals: 13 (Tinsley 6, Power 3, Shirley 1, Rancik 1, Horton 1, Evans 1). |