Hlas: GameDay took second billing to Cyclones

AMES - Everything was geared Saturday toward Iowa State making further inroads into the national basketball consciousness, but one pesky detail remained.

Had the Cyclones not defeated Kansas Saturday night in Hilton Coliseum, all the ESPN College GameDay hoop-dee-doo of Saturday morning would have been as disposable as a gum wrapper or plastic razor. And as memorable.

Iowa State put itself in the position to have a national television party here by virtue of being a winning, entertaining program this season and the three before it. But it had to outplay Kansas in the 'Mothership's” feature game of the day for the lasting image of the Cyclones to be more than an arena-full of cheering at a unnatural volume level for humans to create.

Kansas is Kansas is Kansas. College basketball blue blood. Ten straight Big 12 titles. Wins in nine of their previous 10 trips to Hilton. Topple the conference's kingpin before the nation, or a lot of noise is all the day would be.

It was a toppling, at least for a night. The Cyclones led the entire second half, were up by as much as 14 points, and conquered the Jayhawks, 86-81.

It was just one night, yes, and there's so much season left. But this game showcased not only the insanely fun atmosphere here, but how dynamic and daunting Iowa State's team can be.

The Cyclones were the aggressors. Jameel McKay had a breakout performance in causing all kinds of mayhem for a Kansas team that had never before faced him.

Iowa State's offense didn't flow particularly smoothly in its first three league games, though the Cyclones won two. Not hitting outside shots had a lot to do with it. Maybe blending with the 6-foot-9, long-armed, genuine pivot presence McKay did, too. This was just his seventh game as a Cyclone.

This night, McKay looked like an old hand around here. He got out on the break, he dunked, he blocked three shots and altered others. A true force is what he was.

'The thing you can say about him is he's a difference-maker out there,” Cyclones Coach Fred Hoiberg said after the game. 'He does things you can't teach with his ability to run.

'He can protect the rim, something that makes a guard think twice about going in. You can take a few more chances out there on the perimeter and pressure a little bit more when you've got a guy back there that can erase some space.

'There's a cause-and-effect to running. You're either going to get something for yourself or the defense is going to suck in and you can get your wings shots. Naz (Long) got a couple of those shots in transition behind the 3-point line because of Jameel's commitment to run to the rim.”

The game went from 55-53 to 66-55 largely because of McKay's mayhem. He began that run with a jam off a sweet alley-oop from Monte Morris. He had another jam off a Morris feed. He had a layup in transition on yet another Morris assist, one of his 10. He got one of his three blocked shots before a Long 3-pointer that capped the 11-2 run.

College GameDay wasn't the day's top attraction or distraction, depending on how you viewed it. McKay and the five Cyclones starters, all of whom scored in double figures, were.

Iowa State students started filing into Hilton at 8 a.m. for the big broadcast. They made their big noise for the cameras for a couple hours, then went home. They returned Saturday night and made a bigger noise as tip-off approached.

'Before the game, I couldn't even hear,” Hoiberg said.

Then came the biggest noise of all, 14,384 fans responding to well-played Cyclone basketball against a formidable foe.

'We kept reminding each other that we have a game we need to win,” Long said.

Win, they did. The GameDay sideshow moves on to the Wisconsin-Michigan game in Ann Arbor this Saturday. The environment won't be as good there. The basketball probably won't be, either.

Comments: (319) 368-8840; mike.hlas@thegazette.com