The Texas team continued its losing spree and fell to 9th position after a Texas Tech loss to Iowa State in overtime with a score of 82 – 80. This was Iowa State Cyclone’s 4th consecutive win, a streak they haven’t had since the 2000 – 2001 season.
Matt Thomas and Naz Mitrou-Long start well in Texas Tech loss
For the Iowa Cyclones, Matt Thomas and Naz Mitrou-Long started off well by scoring the first 20 points and giving them a lead of 5 points within 10 minutes into the game. But, Tech came back and tied the game at 39-39 when the first half ended.
Iowa State scored 64% of the shots from 3 point land, netting 9 three pointers.
During the second half, both teams remained close throughout the game. With just 30 seconds remaining, Iowa State had a small lead of 72-71, but, Tech caught up to tie the score at 73-73.
During the last few seconds in overtime, Iowa State held its lead of 82-80 even though they did not score a field goal in overtime. All the shots were from free throws. Devon Thomas of Texas Tech went for a 3 pointer, but failed to score, giving Iowa State their 4th win in a row.
It's the 10th win in Big 12 Conference for Iowa State with Texas Tech loss
With this win, Iowa State recorded its 10th win and is tied for second place in the Big 12 Conference.
Now, it becomes a little easier for Iowa State to reach its 6th NCAA tournament. Special mention goes to Iowa State’s Monte Morris, who scored 23 points and Matt Thomas scoring 18 points. Naz Mitrou-Long contributed 16 points as well.
Donovan Jackson scored a few crucial points when he hit 2 three point throws during overtime to give Iowa State the lead.
Matt Thomas scored and so did Monte Morris to take the lead to 82-78 with just over 17 seconds to go in overtime. Even though a late strike from Keenan Evans brought the score to 82-80, it was not enough for Texas Tech to come back. To make things worse, Tech’s Nick Weiler-Babb missed both free throws, and despite the efforts of Niem Stevenson who scored 17 points, and Zach Smith and Justin Gray each scoring 16 points, Texas Tech still lost in an extremely close game.
With the Texas Tech loss to Iowa State, their hopes are now pinned on the next match where they will take on Oklahoma State, whereas Iowa State will host Baylor.
