Iowa State basketball: 3 takeaways from the Cyclones' upset loss to Oklahoma State

Iowa State basketball: 3 takeaways from the Cyclones’ upset loss to Oklahoma State

Posted by author February 26, 2025 Basketball

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STILLWATER, Okla. − Although Iowa State basketball‘s loss to then-No. 5 Houston provided some sense of a moral victory since the team was shorthanded, the Cyclones’ follow-up road performance on Tuesday night at Oklahoma State was just disappointing.

Iowa State did get Curtis Jones back after he missed the Houston game due to illness, but Oklahoma State set the tone and led the whole way in a wire-to-wire 74-68 upset over the ninth-ranked Cyclones.

The Cowboys built a 40-26 halftime lead. The Cyclones managed to trim the deficit down to as low as four points, but Oklahoma State managed to hold them off for the win.

Joshua Jefferson had 17 points, eight boards, five assists, three steals and a block, but had seven turnovers. Nate Heise added 13 points and six boards. Jones finished with 11 points on 2-of-8 shooting in his return. Milan Momcilovic chipped in 10 points.

The Cyclones dropped to 21-7 overall and 11-6 in Big 12 play after suffering their second straight loss.

Abou Ousmane led Oklahoma State (14-14, 6-11) with 25 points, six rebounds and four steals. Arturo Dean chipped in 14 points, four boards, four assists and seven steals.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger on the toughness in loss to Oklahoma State

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger on the toughness in the Cyclones’ upset loss to Oklahoma State

Turnovers, rebounding lead to big hole that Iowa State never climbed out of

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger puts plenty of emphasis on winning the turnover and rebounding battles — two categories that ultimately come down to attention to detail and effort.

Unfortunately for the Cyclones, they fell behind in both against Oklahoma State and it showed as the Cowboys built a double-digit lead in the first half.

The Cyclones emerged out of the break with a tad more urgency, which led them to overcome a -6 rebounding margin and finished the game outrebounding the Cowboys, 38-34. Still, the damage had been done.

“They had a 14-point lead at half because they dominated us on the glass, they dominated us in the paint and they turned turnovers into points,” Otzelberger said. “Those are the physical toughness things that lead to winning, those are the reasons that teams win and that’s the reason why they built the lead and we were chasing all night, trying to play catch up, because they did such a great job of winning those toughness categories and dominating us.”

Oklahoma State set the tone early with its defensive pressure and it was unrelenting. The Cowboys entered Tuesday’s game generating turnovers on 20.4% of opponents’ possessions, a turnover rate that was good enough for the top 40 nationally and No. 3 in the conference behind Houston and the Cyclones.

Although it shouldn’t have been a surprise, Iowa State never looked comfortable. A large chunk of the turnovers seemed uncharacteristic and there were multiple instances where Oklahoma State picked them clean, particularly Dean.

The Cyclones gave up 18 turnovers, which turned into 24 points on the other end. Jefferson piled up a career-high seven turnovers, and Tamin Lipsey tied a season-high four turnovers.

On the glass, Oklahoma State outrebounded Iowa State 21-15 in the first half, which included numerous second-chance points. The Cowboys finished with 10 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points.

“All the physical things that our program stands for and we take pride in, we lost to them,” Otzelberger said. “We weren’t as focused, we weren’t as tough.”

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger on turnovers vs. Oklahoma State

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger talks turnovers in loss to Oklahoma State

Turnover problems persist for Cyclones

Momcilovic’s return has certainly helped with spacing and allowed the Cyclones to flow better on offense. The team’s overall assist numbers, ball movement, assist rate and shooting percentages have risen since his return.

The turnovers, though, haven’t seemed to go back down, and it is starting to become concerning heading down the stretch.

The Cyclones tied their season-high 18 turnovers for the fourth time, the second time they hit that number since Momcilovic returned to the lineup.

“There’s no business to have those turnovers,” Otzelberger said. “It’s not just the people with the basketball, it’s other guys out there. We need to screen, cut, we need to move appropriately on penetration, and there’s times we just freeze and leave guys on an island. Their guys help, double the basketball, run at the ball and guys aren’t moving and wanting the basketball enough.

“That’s something we got to do a lot better job of because we just turned the ball over 18 times again. Credit to their defense, but that’s beating yourself.”

Interestingly, they minimized turnovers against Houston, one of the top turnover-generating teams in the country.

Against Oklahoma State, the Cyclones didn’t seem to have an answer.

Tuesday also marked the second straight game without one of the team’s top scorers, Keshon Gilbert, who is continuing to nurse a muscle strain. But the senior guard had also been averaging 4.5 turnovers over his last six games.

Over Iowa State’s first 14 games, the Cyclones had averaged 9.6 turnovers per game.

Throughout the last 14 games, that average has risen to 13.9 turnovers per game.

Are opposing teams seeing something they can exploit, or is it just simply the nature of fierce Big 12 competition?

Iowa State’s Nate Heise discusses loss to Oklahoma State

Iowa State guard Nate Heise talks loss to Oklahoma State

Curtis Jones returns, Keshon Gilbert’s return timetable unclear

Cyclone fans had their eyes on the duo well before the game tipped off. Both players traveled with the team.

Jones warmed up and returned to the tune of 11 points on 2-of-8 shooting. The exact nature or severity of the illness he dealt with was not disclosed.

“Those are things we can’t discuss, that’s for our medical people,” Otzelberger said. “We’re going to stick with ‘the illness’ and again, we wouldn’t put Curt out there if he wasn’t fully able and capable of helping us win and play great.

“I know he wouldn’t be out there if he wasn’t, so I know it wasn’t his best game but I also know he’s a competitor and he’s got big things in front of him this season and we’re going to continue to count on him.”

As for Gilbert, perhaps his scoring punch, defense and rebounding would’ve helped and changed the dynamic of the game.

Iowa State shot 24-of-58 (41.4%) overall and 8-for-27 (29.6%) from deep.

“(Keshon’s) done a lot for us, but at the same time, the players that we have available to play, we’ve showed what we can do,” Otzelberger said. “It’s reasonable that we expect them to play to their ability level, with a lot of physicality and a lot of toughness and that wasn’t the case here tonight.”

In regards to Gilbert’s potential return, it’s still unclear.

“I don’t know how to gauge that, I just know he wasn’t available,” Otzelberger said. “We’re going to continue to act in his best interest and do what’s best for him, make sure that his health is first and foremost the priority and when he’s ready to play, he will.”

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.