Iowa State Cyclones guard Curtis Jones (5) celebrates after winning 68-63 over BYU in the Senior Day Big-12 conference showdown of an NCAA college basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger shared a simple, but forceful message with Curtis Jones as the No. 6 Cyclones faced a double-digit deficit Wednesday against 20th-ranked BYU.
“(He) told me to be aggressive,” Jones said after helping ISU complete a stirring comeback win against the Cougars to finish undefeated at Hilton Coliseum for the first time since 2000-01. “Out of every media timeout, just keep being aggressive, so I was kind of looking to score, get up good shots, and just continue to play defense like we did.”
Jones scored a Big 12-season-high 18 points in that triumph — and on Saturday he’ll face the first conference foe he accomplished that feat against when the Cyclones (24-6, 13-4) face Kansas State (17-13, 7-10) at 1 p.m. in Manhattan. ISU could clinch a share of its regular season Big 12 crown since 2001-02 if it beats the Wildcats and top-ranked Houston loses to No. 14 Kansas at home. But the Cyclones aren’t looking at improbable scenarios heading into their regular season finale — even though they would tie a program record for conference wins if they emerge victorious on Saturday.
“Our guys have done a great job of keeping their focus on the next task at hand and the next coming at them, so we don’t anticipate that changing for any reason,” said Otzelberger, whose team has won 11 of its last 13 games. “But you get to this point in the year and you know there (are) other things that others are bringing up, but our guys have done such a terrific job of staying in the moment, so we expect that we’ll uphold that standard for the rest of the season.”
Eschewing so-called outside “noise” has proven to be a potent formula for success for the Cyclones this season and looking ahead gets teams beat, especially against a Kansas State team that will be seeking to avenge a 78-67 road loss in a game that will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“We’ve been locked in since day one,” said freshman forward Milan Momcilovic, who is one of four ISU players averaging double figures in scoring this season. “So now (nearing the) postseason, this is what we’ve been working for all year, so we’re extra locked in coming here to the last game of the season and (then) postseason play.”
Kansas State’s loss at Hilton started a four-game skid and the Wildcats have subsequently slid off the NCAA Tournament bubble. They’d need to both beat the Cyclones on Saturday and make a strong run in next week’s Big 12 Tournament to retain any shot of sneaking into the field, which makes them both desperate and dangerous.
“Teams, when they have their backs against the wall, they find a way to dig deep, so we just need to focus on us being at our best and doing what we can do, and the rest will take care of itself,” Otzelberger said.
And Jones will stay both poised and aggressive as he continues to shine as the sixth man on both ends of the floor. He leads the Cyclones in made 3-pointers (55), free throw percentage (81.3), and steal-to-turnover percentage (46-23).
“He’s really taken the next step forward for us and we’ve needed that,” Momcilovic said. “Coming off the bench, he’s provided scoring, defense, a little bit of everything.”
