Iowa State enters the upcoming week in a much better frame of mind.
The No. 10 Cyclones ended a three-game losing streak Saturday, thumping TCU 82-52 in Ames, Iowa. Up next is a visit to Orlando, Fla., as they look to complete a season sweep of UCF on Tuesday in Big 12 Conference action.
The Cyclones (18-5, 8-4) beat UCF 108-83 on Jan. 21 behind Joshua Jefferson’s career-high 30 points along with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Iowa State managed 54 points in each half for its highest single-game total during coach T.J. Otzelberger’s four-year tenure.
UCF (13-10, 4-8) owns a 3-9 record when opponents score 80 or more points, and the Knights have allowed 90-plus points seven times this season.
Milan Momcilovic’s return from a hand injury benefited Iowa State on Saturday. The 6-foot-8 sophomore played for the first time since Jan. 11 and he found his shooting rhythm after halftime, finishing with 14 points (4 of 7 from 3-point range) in a starting role.
Curtis Jones, who started the previous seven games, came off the bench and scored a game-high 24 points. Dishon Jackson contributed 14 points, Jefferson had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and the Cyclones won a conference game by 30 or more for the first time since Jan. 10, 2023 (84-50 vs. Texas Tech).
Being in Florida — and leaving behind frigid temperatures in Iowa — may also brighten the Cyclones’ mood.
“Good to do down there — 85 (degrees), I think I saw,” Momcilovic said. “I think we scored 108 on (the Knights) the last time we played them, so they’re definitely going to have a different game plan. And we’re going there, so it’s definitely going to be a harder game for sure. They can play good versus anyone. They’re kind of an up-and-down team, but they’re going to be ready for us and it will be a good game.”
UCF is on a four-game slide with just one win in its last seven. Baylor used a 16-0 second-half run to extend a five-point lead and beat the Knights 91-76 on Saturday in Waco, Texas.
Keyshawn Hall had 19 points, giving him exactly 1,000 for his three-year college career. Moustapha Thiam tied a career high with 18 points, his fifth consecutive game in double figures.
The Knights’ last five-game losing streak happened during the 2022-23 season when they were in the American Athletic Conference.
“We have to do a better job defensively, of course,” UCF coach Johnny Dawkins said. “We gave up 91 points; that’s not who we want to be as a team. We have to defend better than we did in both halves. And we have to do a better job of making sure that we understand our foul situations.
“A couple of our players that play a lot of minutes for us — Jordan Ivy-Curry (and) Keyshawn Hall — picked up some tough fouls in the first half. We have to do a better job of playing our (defense) without fouling so those guys aren’t in any kind of foul trouble.”
