- Iowa State defeated Utah 75-59, capitalizing on 18 turnovers by the Utes.
- Iowa State's defense pressured Utah, leading to easy points and a decisive win.
- Milan Momcilovic set a 3-point record while Joshua Jefferson scored 21 points.
SALT LAKE CITY — Iowa State flexed its muscle, and in a blink of an eye put distance on Utah on their home court.
Some of that was Utah gifting Iowa State some easy buckets to help matters for the Cyclones, though, but the other part of the fourth-ranked team in the country was pretty good, too.
The Runnin' Utes committed 18 turnovers against a suffocating Cyclones defense, which led to an easy 20 points on the other end en route to a 75-59 win over Utah Tuesday night.
Utah (10-18, 2-13 Big 12) played Iowa State (24-4, 11-4 Big 12) close for much of night, keeping the game within a few possessions, until midway through the second half when Iowa State started to pull away and Utah couldn't match the effort.
The Cyclones relied on its "disruptive" defense — pressing Utah at midcourt, while sending a second or third defender to trap the ball handler — that got Utah out of its game plan, forced turnovers and sped the team up for much of the night.
"The over dribbling will hurt you, and they're gonna be aggressive in the pick-and-roll, be aggressive picking us up full court," Utah head coach Alex Jensen said. "It's hard, easier said than done, just don't let it speed you up. I think that's one of the things we struggle with as a team, we tend to get going too fast and get above our feet or the ball."
Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said his team, who bounced back from a loss on Saturday to BYU, stuck to its plan to pressure the ball for the full 40 minutes, which helped the Cyclones convert that into offense on the other end.
"We were fortunate that our ball pressure, defensively, was able to be disruptive, and that allowed us to get some points off our defense," Otzelberger. "That's when we're at our best, is when we're dictating, we're disrupting. And I thought our guys really did a good job of maintaining that pressure throughout the course of the 40 minutes."
On offense, Milan Momcilovic was hot from 3-point range, making four 3-pointers on eight attempts to become the Iowa State single-season 3-point record holder. He finished with 14 points and three rebounds for the Cyclones.
And while Momcilovic found his rhythm behind the arc, Joshua Jefferson set the tone in the post as the team's leading scorer with 21 points, six rebounds and three assists. His physical style of play against Utah's defense helped contribute to Iowa State outscoring Utah 38-26 in the post.
Utah had three players finish in double figures Tuesday night, with Terrence Brown leading the way with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. Don McHenry had 14 points, including a game-opening 4-point play on a made corner 3-pointer and the ensuing free-throw attempt after getting fouled.
Keanu Dawes added a double-double for the Utes with 10 points and 12 rebounds to help the Utes to just a two-rebound deficit to Iowa State on the night.
Utah kept the game close early as the two teams traded baskets, but then Iowa State reeled off a quick 12-0 run before McHenry drained a wide-open 3-pointer to stop the bleeding. But Momcilovic answered back with his own 3-pointer on the next possession, putting a damper on the moment.
But Utah weathered the run and went on an 8-0 run of its own minutes later to cut Iowa State's lead to 2 before turnovers started to mount again for the Utes. And in an instant, Iowa State had a double-digit lead it maintained for the rest of the night.
"I think it just got us sped up and out of our game plan a little bit," Jensen said. "Then again, it gets discouraging, like when it's hard to pass the ball and so that's the one thing I think they did."
