The Iowa State Cyclones earned their first win in Big 12 Conference play Wednesday Night when they took down Texas Tech. The team won by a slim margin of 76-69, just not being able to pull away from the pesky Texas Tech team.
The team started off the game well yet again, which was a major problem in past years, at one point leading 31-13. Texas Tech just would not go away at halftime.
Rapid Reaction: Matt Thomas leads Cyclones to 1st Big 12 Win
The highlight of the night was Matt Thomas, who must have read the last Rapid Reaction piece, questioning who to sit on the bench if Burton were to start. Thomas was on fire shooting 6/10 from downtown and 7/13 overall.
The hot Junior was a key momentum stopper seemingly hitting a three to end every Texas Tech run. He logged 38 minutes on the night due to extreme foul trouble for the Cyclones. Georges Niang was limited to 23 minutes while Monte Morris never came out of the game.
Could the foul trouble hurt the Cyclones defensive efforts? Not one bit. Iowa state gave a great show on the defensive end holding the Red Raiders below 70, which… well it’s a start.
Iowa State played the second half with the same mindset, keep the defense and try not to foul, which they didn’t for the first ten minutes.
Overall, Iowa State got a win that was a little to close for comfort, but not by far. Texas Tech is one of the up and coming teams in the Big 12 and as they say, “A win is a win.”
Iowa State moved to 1-1 in Big 12 play with the win, still sitting one-game back of Kansas.
Big 12 Men’s Basketball Standings
As of January 6th, 2016
Pos. Team Record Games Behind
1 Kansas 2-0 –
2 West Virginia 2-0 –
3 Oklahoma 1-1 1.0
4 Iowa State 1-1 1.0
5 Texas Tech 1-1 1.0
6 Baylor 1-1 1.0
7 Texas 1-1 1.0
8 Oklahoma St. 1-1 1.0
9 Kansas State 0-2 2.0
10 TCU 0-2 2.0
The Cyclones will host Baylor on Saturday for a second straight conference home game. The Bears were the only team to beat Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum last season. Tipoff will be at 2:00 and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
