Oklahoma Sooners guard Bijan Cortes (14) goes past Iowa State Cyclones guard Tre Jackson (3) during a men’s college basketball game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Iowa State Cyclones at Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022.
Iowa State missed out on a major opportunity.
That’s the feeling coming out of the Cyclones’ 79-66 loss to Oklahoma on Saturday down in Norman. Iowa State held an 11-point lead in the game with 17:11 left in the second half, but Oklahoma was able to slowly chip away at the deficit before taking control for good roughly 10 minutes later.
The Sooners’ second-half surge lasted all the way through the game’s final minutes, including knocking down each of their last nine shots and finishing the game on a 20-7 run that lasted the final eight minutes.
Iowa State was carried throughout the first half by contributions from Izaiah Brockington. The forward from Philadelphia scored 16 of his 20 points during the game’s opening 20 minutes while adding four rebounds and an assist.
Tyrese Hunter also notched a new career-high with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3-point range, four assists and four turnovers.
Oklahoma was led by guard Umoja Gibson, who tallied 20 points on 4-of-6 from the field and 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Tanner Groves added 16 points for the Sooners while Elijah Harkless posted 13.
No team on Iowa State’s schedule has been able to produce a consistent cohesive offensive attack like Oklahoma did. The Sooners finished the game shooting 62 percent from the field and 58 percent from 3-point range.
Oklahoma went 18-of-22 (82 percent) from the field in the second half while Iowa State posted just a 47 percent shooting output after halftime.
This game also marked Iowa State’s first with one or fewer free throw attempts in the last 12 seasons. The Cyclones didn’t attempt their first foul shot until 39 minutes of game time had elapsed.
Oklahoma finished shooting 14-of-17 at the line as a team.
Iowa State will be back in action on Tuesday in Lawrence, Kan. when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
