MENS BASKETBALL

Iowa State 68, Cincinnati 59

JEFF WALLNER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CINCINNATI - No. 10 Iowa State forced 25 turnovers and had 12 steals in a smothering 68-59 win over Cincinnati.

Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey each had 15 points to lead the Cyclones (19-5, 8-3 Big 12), who turned the Bearcats’ turnovers into 26 points.

Jizzle James had 16 points and Simas Lukosius scored 15 for Cincinnati (15-9, 4-7). Dan Skillings Jr. had 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bearcats have lost five of their past seven games.

Iowa State forced eight turnovers and had three steals in the first six minutes of the game. That helped the Cyclones overcome a scoring drought of nearly four minutes.

Jones, who averaged 14.2 points off the bench in his previous six games, hit a 3-pointer during an 11-2 run to close the first half. Iowa State led 34-26 at halftime.

As the turnovers continued to mount for the Bearcats early in the second half, the Cyclones extended their run to 18-2 on Keshon Gilbert’s 3-pointer to make the score 41-26. Gilbert finished with 12 points.

Cincinnati rallied from a 13-point deficit before losing to No. 5 Houston 67-62 on Saturday. The Cyclones’ defense prevented a similar scare.

Cincinnati leads the all-time series 4-3. It was the schools’ first meeting since 2016.

BIG PICTURE

Iowa State: The Cyclones average nearly 11 steals per game, nearly twice their opponents’ average. They average more than 22 points off turnovers.

Cincinnati: The Bearcats need Viktor Lakhin to get back on track. Lakhin, the team’s second-leading scorer, went scoreless on Tuesday. He has gone scoreless three times in the last four games and only scored four points at Texas Tech.

Iowa State athletics press release

February 13, 2024