3 takeaways from Iowa State University's basketball win over Marquette

AMES – Iowa State men’s basketball picked up a big win on Wednesday night.

The no.

Marquette, which trailed most of the game, went on a game-winning 10-0 run midway through the second half. But the Cyclones responded with a 14-0 run, pulled away and ended the game.

Keshon Gilbert scored a game-high 24 points and seven assists. Joshua Jefferson recorded a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Curtis Jones had 14 points and five boards, while Dishon Jackson contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from Wednesday’s win:

More:Looking back at the Cyclones’ win over the Golden Eagles between Iowa State and Marquette

Iowa State learns from its past mistakes and closes out against Marquette

Iowa State has proven once again that it is one of the top teams in college basketball. But Wednesday wasn’t just about a moral victory.

The Cyclones missed a game against Auburn, blew an 18-point lead and lost in the Maui Invitational in the last second to the Tigers.

“We just learned from our mistakes and maybe we can move on and build on the past,” Jefferson said. “Don’t keep making the same mistakes. I think we’re getting better every day.”

For a moment it looked like there was déjà vu, as Marquette stormed back into the game and tied the score at 61-61 with 9:07 left.

The Cyclones shook off a six-minute stretch of no shots and responded with a decisive 14-0 run to retake the lead and seal the game. This time there was no disappointment.

“We were in a similar situation in the Auburn game when we were up and then they came back and we regained the lead – which is hard to do – and then we couldn’t finish,” coach TJ Ötzelberger said. “Our guys know from this experience that there will continue to be good teams.”

“I felt like we had a more concerted effort defensively, stopping the dribble and keeping it out of position.”

Keshon Gilbert continues his hot, hard play

Despite taking two hard blows to the face last week that left him bloodied, Gilbert remained a leading force for the Cyclones.

He suffered a hard blow to the face during the Maui Invitational and an elbow to the face on Wednesday night. This time he had to leave the game for a few minutes towards the end of the second half.

Nevertheless, he came back and still delivered down the stretch, providing a statistical and emotional boost.

“I hate it when he keeps making shots like that,” Otzelberger said. “… When he came back from the locker room with his nose taped and came into our group, all of our guys erupted. They had smiles on their faces.

“They were all cheering and clapping, just naturally, and that says so much about Keshon. It says how much they think of him, how much he means to our team, how important he is and how much we all recognize how quickly something like this happens.” That’s what happens – he recovers and focuses fully on the task at hand.”

More:Iowa State Basketball holds off Marquette in battle of top five teams

Gilbert has scored 20 points in three of his last four games. Since the start of the Maui Invitational, he has shot 26 of 41 (63.4%) overall and 4 of 8 (50.0%) from long range. He also has a 30-for-33 (90.9%) shooting percentage at the free throw line and averaged 4.5 assists per game over that four-game span.

“Just be aggressive and find gaps,” Gilbert said. “My teammates found me in transition, so we did it.”

The Cyclones defense of Heise and Lipsey were the key to the win

Aside from Marquette’s comeback run, the Golden Eagles had difficulty getting going against the Cyclones’ defense.

Iowa State limited Marquette to shooting 27 of 70 (38.6%) and 11 of 31 (35.5%) from 3-point range.

In the second half, the Cyclones held the Golden Eagles to 12 of 36 (33.3%) overall and 4 of 15 (26.7%) from deep.

Kam Jones and Stevie Mitchell entered Wednesday’s contest as the Golden Eagles’ leading scorers. Together they averaged 35.5 points per game.

Jones had 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists, but shot just 6 of 21 (28.6%). Joplin had just eight points on 3 of 13 shooting (23.1%).

“The concentration was high for most of the first half,” said Otzelberger about his team’s defensive performance. “There were a couple of shots they got late in the first half that we could have focused more on. They had some periods where they made runs and Kam Jones was great at making plays and setting guys up.”

“Ultimately, Nate Heise’s work defensively in the second half, especially protecting Jones, was phenomenal.

Although Tamin Lipsey was struggling and only scored one point, he was an outstanding player defensively.

Related Posts

Netflix’s World War II drama The Six Triple Eight is a great story that’s told quite well

Flames are ready to show Gaudreau “love and appreciation.”

The DOJ opened an investigation into UnitedHealth before the CEO’s assassination

Leave a Reply Cancel reply