Iowa State Cyclones guard Curtis Jones (5) takes a three-point shot over Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Robert Jennings (25) during the second half in the Big-12 conference showdown of a NCAA college basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 17, 2024, in Ames, Iowa.© Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — He’s versatile. He’s disciplined. And, oh, he can shoot it.
All of the above words aptly describe Iowa State senior guard Curtis Jones, but his off-the-bench production pales in comparison to his most valuable attribute.
“(It’s) just the poise that he has,” said Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose sixth-ranked team (20-6, 9-4 Big 12) faces West Virginia (9-17, 4-9) at 1 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2) in Hilton Coliseum. “He’s a veteran out there. He moves the basketball. He values the basketball. He’s a great assist-to-turnover guy. He makes our offense flow and defensively he’s continuing to improve immensely. He’s taking on challenging matchups and doing a great job with those, so he’s just a very complete basketball player.”
Jones serves as a Swiss Army knife of sorts for ISU, which saw a four-game win streak snapped Monday with an eight-point loss at No. 2 Houston. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring (10.2 points per game), third in assists (2.2), and second in steals (1.7). Jones is also the only Cyclone to reach double figures in scoring in each of the past nine games — so after a wobbly start to the season, he’s now defined by both poise and consistency.
“I’d say I’ve always had (poise), but sometimes it takes me a bit to get adjusted to things at every level,” Jones said. “When I went to junior college, it took me a while to get adjusted and once I did I was poised. Same thing at Buffalo and now I think you can see it here.”
It also shows up at the free-throw line, where Jones is a team-best 21 of 24 (87.5 percent) in Big 12 play. Foul shooting has been a concern for the Cyclones, who were outscored at the line in three of their four conference losses. Jones, Milan Momcilovic and Tre King each shoot 80 percent or better from the line for ISU, which came back repeatedly Monday against the Cougars despite facing a 14-point shortfall at the free-throw stripe.
“We showed that we can compete on a really good team’s court and be in the game, I guess,” Otzelberger said. “That’s not really what we’re in this for at this point in the year. We’re in this to come out and do the job we need to do to be successful. We didn’t get it done. Credit to them, but moving on, we can fight with anybody. But we need to be able to fight with anybody but also execute and do the things we need to do down the stretch to find a way to win.”
Enter the Mountaineers, who snapped a four-game skid by beating UCF, 77-67, on Tuesday at home. West Virginia also won at Hilton Coliseum last season, so Otzelberger’s ensuring his team won’t look past Saturday’s challenge — despite the Mountaineers’ season-long struggles.
“They beat us twice (last season),” Otzelberger said. “They beat us at Hilton. That sticks with you. You’ve got to be at your best every single night in this league.”
Jones has certainly been at his best in Big 12 play for the Cyclones, who are one game behind Houston in the conference standings — and will need to remain poised and productive as his team seeks to contend for its first regular-season title since 2001.
“Gotta get back in that win column against West Virginia,” Jones said. “They might not have the best record in the league, but we’re still looking at it like it’s a big game.”
