Everything ‘fell into place’ for Monte Morris’ big night, Iowa State at TCU up next

AMES - Monte Morris has played in big moments.

He's taken a number of game-winning shots. Some - against Texas in the Big 12 tournament and Iowa - have gone in. Others - against Gonzaga and Baylor - didn't.

Through it all, the Iowa State men's basketball senior point guard hasn't gotten too high or too low. In response, he turned out perhaps his best game yet to help push the Cyclones (11-4, 3-1) to a 96-86 win Wednesday at Oklahoma State in the rugged Big 12.

'You go back a week and a half ago at Baylor when he didn't shoot it so great, the world was ready to kill him,” said guard Naz Mitrou-Long. 'He comes out (Wednesday) and wills us to a huge road win.

'Nothing changed with any of his work ethic or our work ethic. We're staying consistent and true to what we know.”

That might be the best thing about Morris. Through the turbulence of a season, he doesn't waver on what works for him. And right now just about everything is clicking, particularly after his 30 points, five rebounds, five assists, four steals and zero turnovers against the Cowboys.

In the last two games against Texas and at Oklahoma State, Morris has combined to shoot 18-for-31 from the field, 7-for-12 from 3-point range with 11 assists and zero turnovers in 77 of a possible 80 minutes of action. He has four games of at least 20 points and zero turnovers so far.

'I'll tell you the most impressive stat from the Oklahoma State game was zero turnovers in 39 minutes against the way they play with full court pressure and ball denial in the half court,” said Iowa State Coach Steve Prohm. 'Just the character and toughness and attention to detail you've got to have on the floor was huge.”

In Iowa State's attempt to play smaller, Prohm has given Morris more freedom and space to run the offense. He's pushed the pace and made the right decisions in passing, but if his shot falls like it did Wednesday, it adds another dynamic to what the Cyclones can do offensively.

'I think once I got it going and saw the ball screen defense was so amazing, I think it just fell in place,” Morris said. 'My offense came on, it was the best I've shot it all year and that's not going to stop me from working. I'm going to keep grinding and chopping at it every day to get better.”

That sense of urgency is sure to continue when Iowa State takes on TCU on Saturday (4:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest/Fox Sports Midwest). The Horned Frogs (13-3, 2-2) are reshaping their identity and perception in the conference with Coach Jamie Dixon.

Two of TCU's three losses have come on the road - at SMU and at No. 7 West Virginia - with its only home loss coming to No. 3 Kansas by six. The Horned Frogs won at Texas for the first time in 30 years this week, and are a top-35 KenPom team with a top-70 adjusted offense and top-25 adjusted defense.

Freshman point guard Jaylen Fisher, who is averaging 9.6 points and 4.4 assists per game, sophomore guard Alex Robinson and junior guard Kenrich Williams - who averages 9.5 points and 9.5 rebounds at 6-foot-7 - draw much of the attention.

'I'm sure it's going to be a great environment,” Prohm said. 'But their guard play has been really good. They run good offense at a great pace and they're tough-minded defensively and that's what (Dixon is) known for.”

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