As George Niang put it in his postgame interview, it is time for Iowa State (14-3, 2-3) to go back to the drawing board. After getting off to a 14-0 start, the Cyclones traveled to Texas (14-4, 3-2) on Saturday and lost their third straight game, this one an 86-76 final.
Turnovers were the story in Austin. Iowa State committed 18 of them compared to only eight by the Longhorns. Iowa State’s All-American point guard candidate DeAndre Kane accounted for seven of them.
Iowa State was led by Niang, who bounced back from a 4-for-20 performance in last Monday’s loss to Kansas, with 18 points, six assists and five rebounds. Melvin Ejim had 17 and 10 for the Cyclones.
Jonathan Holmes led Texas with 23 points on a 9-for-13 day at the office.
The only positive coming from the loss is that Iowa State now has a bye in front of it to regroup.
"This team has got to stay together," Fred Hoiberg said after the game on the Cyclone Radio Network. "That is the big message."
The Cyclones will not take the floor again until next Saturday when Kansas State comes to town for a 12:45 tip. The Wildcats beat West Virginia 78-56 on Saturday.
