No. 1 Kansas holds off Iowa State, 76-72

AMES - The Iowa State men's basketball team isn't at a point where it can rethink everything.

Nearly two-thirds into the season, the Cyclones have their identity. When No. 1 Kansas strolled into Hilton Coliseum, it effectively exploited Iowa State's biggest deficiency: size. ISU coaches made sure their players knew some of the numbers at halftime.

'They shot 14 layups in the first half. Layups,” said Iowa State coach Steve Prohm. 'Now, you can't give Kansas 28 points in layups and expect to beat them.

'We've just got to get better at the little things, that's the bottom line.”

Iowa State trailed by double digits at points throughout the night and made a late rally, before falling short in its 76-72 loss Monday night. The Cyclones' (11-6, 3-3) centers played a combined 13 minutes while the Jayhawks' (17-1, 6-0) wreaked havoc on the interior defense.

Kansas outrebounded Iowa State 41-24 and although they only got 10 second-chance points, the Jayhawks grabbed 14 offensive boards and outscored the Cyclones 52-28 in points in the paint.

Iowa State's leading rebounder was Monte Morris, who had a game-high 23 points - 9-for-15 shooting - with seven boards, seven assists, four steals and three turnovers in 40 minutes. Naz Mitrou-Long had 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting while Deonte Burotn added 21 points.

'Once you get points like that, buckets at the rim, you can pretty much have anything you want and that was the case,” Mitrou-Long said of Kansas.

Kansas, which shot only five free throws all night, shot 54.8 percent on the night, and 61.3 percent in the first half. Point guard Frank Mason III led the Jayhawks with 16 points and orchestrated a ball screen offense that got them easy looks throughout the night.

Landen Lucas (14), Svi Mykhailiuk (13) and Carlton Bragg Jr. (10) joined Mason in double figures. Since losing its season-opener to Indiana by four in overtime, Kansas has won 17-straight games.

'This was going to be one of the harder games we play all year, we know that,” said Kansas coach Bill Self. 'Getting out of here with a W is pretty important with the big picture for sure.”

Iowa State was down 10 with less than two minutes to go when a Kansas foul and turnover led to a mini ISU-run. Morris capped it with two free throws to cut the KU lead to three, but the Jayhawks were able to make a free throw of their own a couple seconds later and stymie a couple desperation 3s at the end.

Prohm said the Cyclones have settled on their rotation, but are still working on what to do with the five-man. Darrell Bowie was 0-for-6 shooting with no rebounds in 13 minutes while Solomon Young had zero rebounds and two points in six minutes.

Most of all, it's the defensive principles that were apparent through long stretches to start the season that Iowa State knows it must get back to.

'It's the little things that are going to turn this thing around,” Morris said. 'That's rebounding and getting lined up defensively.”

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