Jan 13, 2026; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) shoots against during the first half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
What happened at Kansas on Tuesday night — it was bad.
Once you get past the silver lining that the Cyclones’ 84-63 loss shouldn’t be a huge red flag to the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the way Iowa State lost was really bad — and, quite honestly, surprisingly bad.
Manhandled from the jump. Dominated again at the finish.
That’s not supposed to happen to teams that start seasons with 16-game winning streaks that include a 23-point victory at then-No. 1 Purdue. It’s not supposed to happen to a team that was ranked second nationally in the two major clickbait polls, and No. 3 in the far more important NCAA NET.
But in a classic example of burying the lead:
At least no one got hurt.
Positive vibes? Sure. T.J. Otzelberger’s team cut a 26-point first-half deficit to 11 during the first 7½ minutes after halftime, showing that Iowa State could, indeed, play well on the court of the nation’s most desperate college basketball team.
Cling to that if you want. But what about the next 12 or so minutes?
The next step is returning to the full 40 minutes of defensive and offensive relentlessness we all know this team is capable of.
That means Iowa State dominating Cincinnati on the road Saturday the same way it was dominated Tuesday at Kansas.
Play the way Iowa State played during the 16 games before the latest Nightmare at Kansas, and everything’s fine again. Come out of the locker room as if there’s already a 20-something deficit. Play every possession with game-on-the-line desperation.
Don’t shy away from shooting. Cut down on the turnovers while maintaining the aggressiveness that fueled the program’s best start.
Throw the first punch. Play angry. Perform whatever cliché it takes to ensure what happened Tuesday night never happens again — on what should be Bounce-Back Saturday.
How Iowa State responds to its first real adversity could define at least this middle portion of what is always an entertaining and exhausting Big 12 season.
A no-doubt road win against a so-so, second-division team, and everything likely feels right again. Play with a lead for a change.
Tuesday at Kansas — in the most raucous road environment the Cyclones will experience all season — is one thing. Saturday at Cincinnati?
No excuses.
“We appeared a little bit spooked and panicked, and the moment got us and we weren’t able to recover,” Otzelberger told reporters after Tuesday’s game.
Spooked shouldn’t happen Saturday, especially considering this bounce-back opportunity could be played in front of a mostly Cyclones crowd.
“We’ve got to do a better job with how we start games on both ends,” Otzelberger continued. “The last few games, we haven’t had the quickest starts that we’d like. We didn’t impose our will on the game — and I think that’s on both sides of the basketball.”
Anyhow, it’s not like Iowa State has been playing great basketball lately. That happens — especially in a conference that includes at least four teams capable of making Final Four runs: Arizona, Iowa State, Houston and BYU.
It’s tough to be the hunted every single game, especially every single road game.
What happened Tuesday night at Kansas was bad. A repeat Saturday against an ordinary opponent that just notched its first Big 12 win wouldn’t just be unexpected — it would be worse.
(Columnist Randy Peterson, a past Iowa Sportswriter of the Year winner, can be reached at [email protected] or at any Okoboji-area beverage or food establishment between the hours of open and close.)
