Iowa State blasted Mississippi in an SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup of top 25 teams Saturday in Oxford, Miss.
The No. 24 Cyclones rolled to an 87-73 win over the 20th-ranked Rebels, evening ISU's all-time record in the six years of the Big 12 vs. SEC conference clash at 3-3. I-State is now 15-5 overall this season. Iowa State returns to Big 12 play Wednesday night at home against West Virginia. The Cyclones are 4-3 in the conference.
ISU shredded the Ole Miss defense through Saturday's game. The Cyclones shot 69 percent from the field in the game, including 77 percent in the second half. Iowa State was selective with its three-point attempts and made 8-of-15 from behind the arc (53 percent). I-State outscored the Rebels, 46-26, in points in the paint and the Cyclone bench produced 28 points in the decisive victory.
Iowa State never trailed Mississippi, scoring the game's first five points and building a double-digit lead at 20-9 on a Lindell Wigginton's three off the bench with less than seven minutes gone from the game. The Cyclones' biggest lead of the first half was 12 points on a Nick Weiler-Babb bucket in the lane that made it 25-13 with just under nine minutes left before the half.
Ole Miss whittled ISU's lead down to five points, 43-38, at halftime and got within one on a Terence Davis tip in made it 43-42 at the 18:28 mark.
But Iowa State made 13 straight field goal attempts to regain control of the game. A three-pointer and dunk by Tyrese Haliburton on consecutive possessions put I-State up, 53-44, with 16:03 left in the game. Back-to-back buckets from Marial Shayok got the Cyclone lead back to double-digits at 57-47 with 14:34 to go.
An alley oop dunk by Cameron Lard on a lob assist from Talen Horton-Tucker put ISU up 14 at 67-53 midway through the second half. Lard hit from the short corner to make it 69-53 with 9:20 to play that gave I-State the first of several 16-point leads.
Iowa State's biggest lead - 17 points - came on a Wigginton three-pointer that made it 81-64 with just under four minutes left in the game.
Horton-Tucker led all scorers with 23 points. Wigginton came off the Cyclone bench to score 18 in his best game to date in an injury-interrupted season. Shayok was also in double figures with 17 points.
Iowa State had 26 assists on its 38 made field goals. Weiler-Babb led the way with nine and Haliburton had eight, including four on ISU's first five made shots of the game.
The Cyclones' were +6 overall in rebounding margin (34-28), but gave up 15 offensive boards to Ole Miss. The Rebels scored 15 second-chance points.
ISU's biggest flaw in a mostly impressive win was turnovers. The Cyclones forfeited the ball 19 times.
Ole Miss had a decided advantage at the free throw line, making 15 of 17. Iowa State only shot four free throws, and made three of them. Breein Tyree led Mississippi scorers with 22 points.
Iowa State has now beaten Arkansas, Auburn and Ole Miss in SEC/Big 12 Challenge games. It has lost to Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
