Iowa State Crushes and Overwhelms No. 1 Houston

The No. 7 Iowa State Cyclones dominate the No. 1 Houston Cougars, 69-41, in the Big 12 Championship Game

The No. 7 Iowa State Cyclones dominate the No. 1 Houston Cougars, 69-41, in the Big 12 Championship Game | Image: ESPN/YouTube

Milan Momcilovic tallied 18 points in a commanding performance by No. 7 Iowa State over No. 1 Houston with a resounding 69-41 victory on Saturday night during the Big 12 tournament final, amidst a predominantly supportive Iowa State crowd.

The Cyclones from Iowa State are the sole contenders to have advanced to the tournament championship and never experienced defeat. They now hold a flawless 6-0 record in tournament title clashes.

Anticipated to be a defensive battle between the leading scoring defenses in the Big 12 conference, and within the top five in Division I, this matchup turned out to be completely dominated by Iowa State. They restricted Houston to a mere 26.8 percent shooting (15-of-56) from the field.

The Cyclones fired 25-of-50 against the nation’s most robust field-goal defense.

Iowa State, the 2nd seeded team with a 27-7 record, also received 16 points from Keshon Gilbert and 13 from Hason Ward.

Houston (30-4), holding the top seed in the tournament and likely still a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, was led in scoring by Jamal Shead with 10 points.

Kicking off the second half with 10 unanswered points, Iowa State stretched their seven-point halftime advantage to a 17-point margin. The Cougars failed to narrow the gap to single digits for the remainder of the game, while the Cyclones extended their lead to as much as 32 points.

Iowa State maintained full control over both offense and defense in the initial half.

In their first couple of games combined, the Cougars outscored their rivals 37-8 within the initial 10 minutes of play. However, on Saturday night, it was Iowa State that surged ahead early. The Cougars’ final lead of the half stood at 11-9.

The Cyclones held a lead of up to nine points at 30-21 with slightly over a minute left in the half before heading into the break with a 30-23 advantage. Gilbert spearheaded Iowa State with nine points. Shead and LJ Cryer led Houston with seven points each.

Before halftime, Iowa State limited Houston to a mere 28.1 percent shooting (9-of-32), which included a mere 2-of-11 from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, the Cyclones sank 12-of-26 shots (46.2 percent), including 5-of-11 from long distance.

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