No. 5 ISU Stifles No. 9 Kansas, 74-56, To Remain Unbeaten At Home

Saturday, February 14

Ames, Iowa

12:00 PM

Iowa State

22-3,9-3Big 12

Kansas

19-6,9-3Big 12

Kansas

Iowa St.

No. 5 ISU Stifles No. 9 Kansas, 74-56, To Remain Unbeaten At Home

02.14.2026 | Men's Basketball

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AMES, Iowa –No. 5 Iowa State (22-3, 9-3 Big 12) used a little Hilton Magic and sharp shooting in the second half to knock off No. 9 Kansas (19-6, 9-3 Big 12) 74-56 Saturday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

The victory keeps the Cyclones unbeaten at home this season (14-0) and 47-2 at home in the last three seasons. It also ended KU's eight-game winning streak.

A big part of ISU's success today was its hot shooting after intermission, making 8-of-14 shots from 3-point range, including its first six attempts from beyond the arc to forge a 24-point lead.

Milan Momcilovic scored 14 of his game-high 18 points after intermission, drilling 4-of-5 from deep after missing all four attempts in the first half. Tamin Lipsey, who had 11 points, made both of his treys in the early moments of the second half.

ISU also got it done on defense, keeping KU off balance all afternoon, forcing 13 Jayhawk turnovers while committing only six.

Blake Buchanan, Joshua Jefferson and Jamarion Batemon each had 11 points. Buchanan was 5-of-6 from the field and grabbed six boards to help ISU notch its fourth-straight victory vs. KU at home for the first time since 1985-88.

Melvin Council Jr. led the Jayhawks with 15 points.

How it Happened
The first eight minutes of the game had minimal scoring, as the Cyclones opened the game 1-of-10 from the field and KU had four turnovers. Down 6-2, ISU finally got the lid off the basket to take an 11-6 lead behind a 9-0 run.

Killyan Toure hit a 3-pointer, Buchanan scored down low and Batemon buried a trey in a quick burst to give the Cyclones the lead.

It was short-lived, however. Council Jr. hit a trio of 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch to help the Jayhawks regain the lead at 20-16 with 6:34 left in the first half.

The next five minutes were all ISU. Jefferson had two conventional 3-point plays, Buchanan added one of his own and Batemon hit another trey in a massive 20-2 run to give ISU a 36-22 lead with 1:37 left in the first half.

The Jayhawks were able to trim the deficit to 37-27 at the half with a late Elmarko Jackson 3-pointer.

The Cyclones opened the second half on fire. Momcilovic hit back-to-back 3-pointers followed by a Lipsey trey for a quick 9-0 spurt to give the Cyclones a 46-29 lead.

Two more 3-pointers from Lipsey and Momcilovic, the latter fading away from the corner with shot clock running down, pushed the ISU lead to 20 points (52-32).

Momcilovic's fourth trey of the second half gave the Cyclones their largest lead at 62-38 with 11:57 left in the game.

KU began chipping away, cutting the lead to 15 points (65-50) after a Council Jr. lay-in, but Nate Heise quickly answered with a big 3-pointer to make it a 68-50 Cyclone lead with 7:09 remaining in the game.

ISU went scoreless in the next four minutes to allow KU to creep back in at 68-56. Lipsey and Jefferson missed two front ends of one-and-one situations to give the crowd a little anxiety.

However, minutes later a Buchanan dunk and a Momcilovic runner gave the Cyclones a comfortable 73-56 lead with a little over a minute left.

Key Performer
Jamarion Batemon was key in the big win over Kansas. The rookie came off the bench to score 11 points behind 3-of-6 shooting from downtown. His two big treys in the first half helped ISU overcome a slow start and he drilled another trey early in the second half to help ISU mount a 24-point lead.

Up Next
Iowa State's schedule doesn't get any easier, playing host to No. 3 Houston on Monday (Feb. 16). Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.