Iowa State rallies to stun No. 3 Kansas 92-89 in OT
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Iowa State followed up a terrible practice with a terrific game.
One of its most satisfying in years.
Deonte Burton hit seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points, Monte Morris added 25 and made two crucial free throws in overtime, and the Cyclones rallied from a big halftime deficit to beat No. 3 Kansas 92-89 on Saturday and end the Jayhawks’ 51-game winning streak in Allen Fieldhouse.
“This is just a special win, special day for these guys,” said Cyclones coach Steve Prohm, who lamented with a laugh that “terrible” practice Friday. “Yesterday was awful.”
Things were a whole lot better Saturday.
Naz Mitrou-Long added six 3-pointers and 22 points, and the Cyclones (14-8, 6-4 Big 12) made a school-record 18 3-pointers while forcing the Jayhawks (20-3, 8-2) into 21 turnovers.
They also overcame a monster game by the Jayhawks’ Frank Mason III, who had a career-best 32 points while going 9 of 11 from the field, 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and 10 of 12 at the free throw line.
“They played with house money today,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “I’m sure Steve would say the same thing. They came in here with a free mind and said, `Let’s just let it go.“’
It was 82-all at the end of regulation, but a basket by Morris and Burton’s final 3 gave the Cyclones a cushion. The Jayhawks closed to 87-86 on a free throw by Josh Jackson, but Morris answered with a deft baseline pass to Donovan Jackson, whose 3 with 26.7 seconds left silenced the crowd.
Devonte Graham hit a 3-pointer with 10.1 seconds left to give Kansas a chance. But after Morris hit both free throws at the other end, Svi Mykhailiuk’s long 3-pointer at the buzzer missed badly.
The Cyclones ran off their bench to celebrate a stunning victory – one that came after back-to-back losses for Iowa State and back-to-back wins by Kansas over No. 8 Kentucky and No. 2 Baylor.
“We got hit with adversity,” Morris said, “and Coach said, `Man, respond.“’
Mykhailiuk finished with 17 points for the Jayhawks, while Jackson added 15 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Landen Lucas added a career-high 18 rebounds.
“We don’t lose at home,” Lucas said, “so it’s something that’s hard to digest.”
Indeed, the Jayhawks looked as if they would roll to yet another win over the Cyclones in the Phog, where they had not lost to them since 2005. They shot better than 70 percent from the field in the first half, grabbed the rebound on just about every miss and led by 15 in the closing minutes.
But the Cyclones fought their way back the best way they know how: the 3-pointer.
Mitrou-Long and Burton caught fire from beyond the arc over the final 20 minutes, and it didn’t matter that the Jayhawks were still scoring at the other end. Point by point, the Cyclones closed the gap on the Big 12 leaders, until Burton hit the second of consecutive 3s with 6:24 to go.
By the time Mitrou-Long added a third consecutive 3 a minute later, the Cyclones had put together a 9-0 spurt that turned a four-point deficit into a 78-73 lead with about 5 minutes to go.
Iowa State proceeded to miss five straight shots before Morris hit a 3-pointer for an 82-81 lead with a minute to go. Mason was fouled at the other end and made the second of two free throws to knot the game, and that’s how it ended in regulation when Mason’s jumper at the buzzer clanked off the rim.
It was Mason’s first missed shot from the field all game.
Big picture
Iowa State had already proven it could hang with some of the nation’s top teams, taking No. 1 Gonzaga to the wire in late November. But on Saturday, the Cyclones proved they could beat them, too.
Kansas struggled through a depth problem caused by the suspension of Carlton Bragg Jr. and a season-ending injury to Udoka Azubuike. Three players logged at least 40 minutes, and the top six played all but 5 minutes. “They played a lot of guys too,” Self said. “I think we were pretty spent (going into overtime), but we had 5 good minutes left.”
More legal trouble
Jackson and Lagerald Vick played two days after The Kansas City Star reported they are persons of interest in a Lawrence police investigation into a vandalism incident from December. The report comes on the heels of several off-the-court issues that have cast a shadow on the entire program.
“We’re focused on basketball. That’s our job,” Mason said. “We don’t focus on anything outside of that, besides school. Just let Coach deal with all of that. We’re just here to play ball.”
Up next
Iowa State continues its two-game trip at Texas on Tuesday night.
Kansas travels down Interstate 70 to face Kansas State on Monday night.