Iowa State Basketball: Cyclones drop a close one at Baylor

Iowa State basketball nearly took a huge win over Baylor, but came up short on the road.

There is no doubt that the home comeback over Texas Tech was an emotional boost for Iowa State. We now know that the momentum nearly carried over. The Cyclones nearly stole a game off Baylor in Waco, but ultimately fell short.

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The first half saw Baylor run out to an early lead thanks to the dominant inside duo of Johnathan Motley and Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. The twin towers helped the Bears get out to a 11-3 lead, but Iowa State would answer throughout the first half thanks to hitting 8-of-15 from deep. The two teams would trade baskets for much of the opening 20 minutes, but Baylor would sneak ahead 37-36 going into halftime.

The Cyclones saw their hot shooting fail a bit, but still had plenty of tenacity to keep the Baylor faithful on their toes. Iowa State’s defense would lead to multiple transition buckets off 13 Baylor turnovers to stay close.

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However, Baylor would come away with the victory thanks to last-second heroics from Miami transfer Manu Lecomte. The point guard missed all four of his threes, but had enough to nail the mid-range jumper with just over eight seconds left.

Motley and Lual-Acuil would lead BU with 13 and 15, respectively. Each collected one block, while Motley led all players with 12 boards.

Jake Lindsey was huge off the bench with 10 points, including two big threes. The Bears shot just 3-of-17 from deep despite coming into the game shooting 38 percent as a group.

Iowa State’s Naz Mitrou-Long led all scorers with 17 points. Monte Morris had 11, along with seven boards and five assists, while Deonte Burton chipped in with 11.

Baylor was lucky they had enough to win; they handily won interior points and rebounding, but let themselves get far too complacent at home.

Despite the loss, this game showed more about Iowa State than it did Baylor. The Cyclones have been under performing all year, but their defense was mostly outstanding on the perimeter.

Next: Can Baylor challenge Kansas?

They just didn’t have enough inside to neutralize the size disparity. They just need a little bit more from somewhere to really hit their potential. The veteran team from Ames will host struggling Texas, who just ended a small skid with a win over Oklahoma State. Baylor gets that same Oklahoma State at home to end the week.