No. 2 Iowa State was on a roll coming into its matchup against Kansas Tuesday night, bringing an undefeated 16-0 record and hoping to snap its eight-game losing streak at Allen Fieldhouse.
But the Jayhawks had other plans, handing No. 2 Iowa State its first loss of the season in dominant fashion, winning 84-63.
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The Kansas defense had its best performance of the season, holding the Cyclones to their season low in points and 37% shooting from the field. Meanwhile, the Jayhawks offense outclassed the Cyclones top-10 defense, piling up 84 points on 51% from the field. It wasn’t just the Jayhawks dominating, though. Twelve turnovers and 55% free throw shooting plagued the Cyclones all night.
The Jayhawks had plenty of easy looks from three-point range in the first half, helping them build their 44-23 lead at halftime. They kept the pace in the second, only letting Iowa State claw back to within 11 about midway through the half, but they followed it with a 13-0 run to get back in front by 21.
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Tre White led the Jayhawks with 19 points, racking up a season-high 15 points from beyond the arc. Three other Jayhawks starters reached double-digit points as Darryn Peterson, Melvin Council Jr. and Flory Bidunga scored 16, 15 and 10, respectively.
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Joshua Jefferson led the Cyclones with 12 points, but his five turnovers and 50% free throw shooting were indicative of Iowa State’s struggles in this one.
The Jayhawks improve to 2-2 in conference play and 12-5 overall, while the Cyclones move to 3-1 in the Big 12 and 16-1 overall. Iowa State faces a tough stretch coming up, with a home game against Houston before hitting the road to face BYU. Kansas will look to build on its best win of the season so far as it hosts Baylor on Friday before traveling to Boulder to play Colorado.
