Jan 26, 2019; Oxford, MS, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Talen Horton-Tucker (11) dribbles the ball around Mississippi Rebels guard Blake Hinson (0) during the second half at The Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports
Iowa State’s roller coaster of a season continued on Saturday with perhaps its best overall performance of the year. The No. 24 Cyclones rolled to an 87-73 win over No. 20 Ole Miss behind 23 points from freshman guard Talen Horton-Tucker, giving the Big 12 the first point in the win column of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.
The Cyclones found success early in the game shooting 62.1 percent from the field on their way to a 43-38 halftime lead. They were even more dominant in the second half hitting 76.9 percent of their shots from the field and 4-of-6 from deep to end the game shooting 69.1 percent from the floor and 8-of-15 from 3-point range.
After struggling mightily in the team’s first few Big 12 games, Horton-Tucker seems to have found his stride by following up his 16-point performance against Kansas on Monday with Saturday’s 11-of-18 from the field, eight rebound and five assist effort against the Rebels.
Lindell Wigginton also played his best game since returning from injury finishing with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and five rebounds. Marial Shayok was the third Cyclone to finish in double-figures with 17 points on 6-of-9 from the field.
Other notable stat lines included Nick Weiler-Babb‘s eight points, eight assists and nine rebound effort in 37 minutes plus Tyrese Haliburton‘s five points and nine assists in 37 minutes, as well.
The Cyclones will be back in action on Wednesday when West Virginia visits Hilton Coliseum for a 6 p.m. tip.
