Iowa State Overcomes Double-Digit Deficit to Take Down Iowa in a Rivalry Classic
No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones stunned the Iowa Hawkeyes with an 89-80 comeback victory in Iowa City, snapping a four-game road losing streak in this heated rivalry. Curtis Jones led the charge with a stellar 23-point performance, while Joshua Jefferson delivered a dominant double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds. The Cyclones overcame a 13-point deficit, taking their first lead late in the second half thanks to a clutch layup by Nate Heise.
Tamin Lipsey added 11 points, including a pivotal 3-pointer that jump-started Iowa State’s offense after a slow start from beyond the arc. The Cyclones were ice-cold from three in the first half (3-for-13) but caught fire in the second, going 8-for-15 to seal the win.
Iowa (7-3) had its full roster available for the first time this season, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t capitalize, missing 14 of 15 shots in a critical second-half stretch. Owen Freeman led Iowa with 16 points, while Josh Dix (14 points) and Payton Sandfort (13 points) added support.
Key Moments & Stats:
Turning Point: Iowa missed two crucial free throws with 3:34 left, opening the door for Heise’s go-ahead bucket seconds later.
Cold Stretch: Iowa’s offense froze, going 1-for-15 during a pivotal late-game stretch.
Rivalry Tightens: This marks the first single-digit game in this series in years, breaking a streak of blowouts (average margin of 20.3 points in the last six matchups).
Cyclone Nation, gear up for the season at SoundTheCyrens.com and rep your team in style!
8 Comments
That was what I watched. Iowa State made the comeback.
Bout time, Orness. Been waiting for days ☺
My man!!!🌪🌪🌪🌪
Choke-eyes 🌪️🌪️🌪️
Thank you, I was rewatching it on the “Draftmatic” youtube page but I think that channel got copyrighted
No Blood, no foul on Gilbert by the Hawk PG in front of the bench on the reviewed OB play??
This game showed me that Fran McCaffery is quite the tactician: getting his rag tag group of farm boy athletes to compete with athletes who will someday play in the big league is quite a feat. Still, the superior coaching and superior athleticism of the Cyclones won the final minutes in a hostile arena. It was a good game. A good game for both teams to learn from.
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