KU basketball lost big to Iowa State in Ames. Can Jayhawks get revenge in Monday rematch?
If Kansas men’s basketball hopes to avenge a 17-point loss to Iowa State and gain a split in its regular-season series against the Cyclones, the Jayhawks obviously will have to play a lot better on ESPN Big Monday than they did Jan. 15 in Ames, Iowa.
Ranked No. 9 in the country, KU was out-rebounded by 10, committed 17 turnovers, misfired on 7 of 11 free-throw tries and hit 5 3-pointers in 16 attempts in a 74-57 setback to then-No. 2 ISU.
Also, KU was torched for 5 3s in 6 attempts and 25 points — 20 the first half — by Curtis Jones, formerly ISU’s sixth man who has been thrust into a starting role because of an injury to Cyclones sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic.
“They had a player play like a first-team All-American, and he’s terrific,” coach Bill Self said of the performance in the first KU-ISU meeting of Jones, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior guard from Minneapolis.
Jones averages a team-leading 17.9 points a game on 44.3% shooting (56-of-148 from 3 for 37.8%) heading into Monday’s Big 12 battle set for an 8 p.m. Central tip at Allen Fieldhouse.
ISU, which is coming off Saturday’s shocking 80-61 home loss to Kansas State, enters 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12; KU, which lost to Baylor 81-70 Saturday in Waco, is 15-6 overall and 6-4 in the league.
Standout Cyclone guards Keshon Gilbert (eight assists, seven points) and Tamin Lipsey (10 points, three steals) joined Jones in smothering the Jayhawks with their quickness and intense play on defense while holding the Jayhawks to under 60 points in the mid-January game before a loud crowd at Hilton Coliseum.
“We said we were going to try to take away the guards. Other than Jones playing out of his mind I actually thought we did a pretty good job,” Self said, stressing this ISU team which also includes Dishon Jackson (17 points vs. KU), Joshua Jefferson (12 boards, 10 points) and Nate Heise (three steals) could be “the best they’ve ever had, and ever is a long time.”
Self has admired the work of third-year ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger.
“I think that their evaluation in recruiting has been tremendous,” Self said. “The bottom line is the pieces fit, and the other thing is, they’re very well drilled. And they are very good in situational basketball too.
“(In the first meeting) when we went small and switched 5, they just (messed) with the ball until they got the big guy posted and threw it over the top. They’re a very smart basketball team.”
He continued.
“They’re old, too, but I would say talent evaluation, putting a team together and then getting them to play as hungry as they do is what I would probably commend them on as much as anything,” Self added. “They’ve done a great job.”
One problem for KU in the first meeting was KU big man Hunter Dickinson scored just six points on 3-of-10 shooting in 29 minutes. KU had just one double-digit scorer in the game in Zeke Mayo, who had 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting.
Freshman center Flory Bidunga had 11 points on 3-of-3 shooting with four blocks and three rebounds in 11 minutes for Kansas.
Bidunga slipped to two points and zero rebounds in 15 minutes in Saturday’s 81-70 loss at Baylor.
“The biggest thing Iowa State did is pressured so hard on the perimeter. The only person who could catch it easy was a 5-man,” Self said. “Take the 5-man away from the basket to relieve pressure (and) he will not score as many points. The other thing they did a good job on, we tried to feed the post from the wing or high slot multiple times on the first side.
“The way they play, the trap from under, that was not a good design by us to try to do that. We wanted to get the ball to the second, third side as quick as we could. I think the way they guarded us is a way that would limit Hunter’s good touches a lot because the guards forced him to be on the perimeter to be a pressure release.”
Dickinson said: “Offensively we have to play with more ball and body movement. Their pressure (in Ames) was kind of determining our offense. We’ve got to be the aggressor for sure, put more pressure on them instead of having them put pressure on us.”
The Jayhawks, like the Cyclones, are coming off a tough loss. KU squandered a 21-point lead, largest blown lead in a loss in school history, in the 11-point loss to the Bears in Waco.
Asked if he’s happy KU has a game as early as Monday after the meltdown in Waco, Self said jokingly: “No. We are going to postpone it until Tuesday. It is a lot easier to play on a short break if you have momentum going into it and energy. We’re going to have to regroup obviously. By Monday we’ll be happy we are playing. That’s a tougher test today than it would be for Baylor if they were playing Monday.”
Noted KU big man Dickinson: “It’s tough but that’s life in the Big 12. We’ve got Iowa State coming in Monday with a short turnaround.”
“Any loss is terrible. Honestly for me, I hate losing more than I love winning,” KU senior Zeke Mayo said of his mood after the Baylor game, KU’s fifth straight loss in Waco. “This is the Big 12. Every team is good and more than capable of coming back from a deficit like that.”
After the Big Monday game, KU will be idle until Saturday. The Jayhawks will meet resurgent Kansas State at 1 p.m. in Manhattan.
This story was originally published February 2, 2025 at 10:00 AM.
