Feb 25, 2025; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (2) loses control of the ball with Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Bryce Thompson (1) and Oklahoma State Cowboys forward Abou Ousmane (33) during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images
Sloppy ball handling. Poor free-throw shooting. Spotty defense.
Add all of those unsavory elements up — and more — and No. 9 Iowa State’s resume-damaging 74-68 loss Tuesday at Oklahoma State took shape in stark and stunning form.
The Cyclones (21-7, 11-6 Big 12) were decisively outscored in points off turnovers (24-10), in the paint (36-28) and from the foul line (18-12), but mounted two furious second-half rallies that never got them within one possession of the lead.
“We’ve gotta come out and dictate,” ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger said on the Cyclone Radio Network after his team’s second non-Quad 1 loss of the season. “That’s unacceptable. From how we practice to what we demand, the pride we have — credit to Oklahoma State. They did a good job. Unacceptable on our end to not come out and be the tougher, more physical, more aggressive team. That’s not gonna happen again.”
Some of the few thousands of fans of the Cowboys (15-15, 6-11) in attendance at Gallagher-Iba Arena stormed the court, adding insult to injury for ISU, which never led and entered the game as 10.5-point favorites.
One positive did emerge for the Cyclones, as leading scorer Curtis Jones returned to the lineup after missing Saturday’s loss at No. 4 Houston because of a bout with walking pneumonia. He scored 11 points. Transfer forward Joshua Jefferson shined most during ISU’s second-half comeback and finished with a team-high 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, but he also lost seven of his team’s 18 turnovers.
“His urgency, especially late — making shots making plays, getting on the glass, all those things, he’s terrific,” Otzelberger said. “I’ve gotta do a better job with him of trying to get that same urgency with him right away because I know when the game’s on the line, I know what he’s gonna do. But we’ve gotta have that urgency to start the game because he’s too good of a player and we know what he can do, and I believe in him, and couldn’t have more confidence in him.”
ISU’s second-leading scorer, Keshon Gilbert, missed his second straight game with a muscle strain. Otzelberger expressed hope that he could return to practice late this week and potentially play at 8 p.m. Saturday against No. 22 Arizona at Hilton Coliseum, but that’s not a sure thing for a Cyclone team that’s seen injuries disrupt the rotation for over a month.
“Hopefully everybody’s available and ready to go, and if they are, everybody needs to take a tremendous sense of pride in the things that go into winning, and those things didn’t show up for us tonight,” Otzelberger said.
Guard Nate Heise provided another bright spot on an otherwise very bleak night in Stillwater, scoring a Cyclone career-high 13 points on 3-for-4 3-point shooting. He also grabbed six rebounds — and has notched an ISU career-high in scoring in three straight games.
“We’ve got a lot to learn from as a team, not just myself,” Heise said. “We’ve gotta bring it.”
The Cyclones will face fellow top-25 opponents at home in their next two games, as surging No. 25 BYU heads to Hilton on Tuesday before the regular-season finale at Kansas State occurs next Saturday. So ISU can rebuild its strong resume rather quickly — but not if it plays like it did against the Cowboys. ISU dropped from eighth to 11th in the KenPom ratings — an unusually precipitous tumble in advanced metrics this late in the season.
“We’re gonna come out (Saturday against the Wildcats) definitely with a lot of energy because we’re coming off this loss,” Jones said. “They beat us in a heartbreaker (in Tucson), so we have no excuse not to come out and give everything.”
