Hlas: Cyclones need no apologies this night

AMES - At halftime, Phillip Phillips' snappy hit 'Home” was played on the Hilton Coliseum public-address system.

It seemed fitting, given the Iowa State men's basketball team had a 36-25 lead over Texas in their friendly confines.

During a timeout with 9:52 left, the ISU pep band played Pharrell Williams' snappy hit, 'Happy.” It seemed fitting, given the Cyclones were up 62-44 and would be ahead 69-48 less than two minutes later.

The band played the school fight song after No. 16 Iowa State held on for an 89-86 victory over No. 20 Texas. There must not be any snappy songs about flop sweat or the cold shakes.

The Longhorns scored 61 points in the second half. Sixty-one! They had 42 points in the last 10 minutes. Forty-two!!!

It still wasn't enough. It shouldn't have been close to enough, but the Cyclones continue to shoot free throws as if they are lining up 15-foot putts rather than, well, free throws.

Five times in the last 50 seconds, the Cyclones had two foul shots in the double bonus. Five different players went to the line, and each split a pair.

So despite playing a pretty wonderful 37 minutes, the Cyclones didn't fully close the door. The missed foul shots combined with their only period of ragged ballhandling to open the door a little wider and wider.

The fact Texas made 10 three-pointers in the second half can't be dismissed, either. It was a great rally by what ISU Coach Fred Hoiberg called 'a great basketball team we beat.”

But it was an Iowa State win. And, it wasn't as if the Cyclones didn't earn or deserve it. That aforementioned 69-48 lead they constructed was done so with high focus and energy, plus the type of ball-movement that probably made coaches around the country nod in approval as they watched it on ESPN.

‘Tis a far, far better thing to lead by 21 and win by 3 than to trail by 19 and fall by 5. Iowa State did the latter two days earlier, at Big 12 basement-dwelling Texas Tech. It was giving away a game to the rest of the conference's title-contenders and it's a game the Cyclones can only get back by beating an upper-crust team on the road.

But for now, protecting the home floor against a tall, talented group of Texans was satisfying enough. Even with the late-game flop sweat and cold shakes.

'I'm really pleased with how be bounced back from that disappointing game Saturday,” Iowa State Coach Fred Hoiberg said. 'I give our guys all the credit for getting together, talking things out, and coming out with what I think was our best practice of the year yesterday.”

My feeling about meetings is that they're usually for bloviating and blather. Or doodling and napping, depending on the meeting-goer.

But the Cyclones called a players-only meeting after the Texas Tech game, and apparently it was pretty useful. They certainly came out sharp and unified Monday night, and stayed that way for the vast majority of the game.

ISU forward Georges Niang played like a leader this night, with 19 points, and three assists that included two late first-half lobs to Jameel McKay for dunks.

'Anytime you can win a game, I think that's a good thing for us,” Niang said. 'I feel like just seeing the ‘W' on the board is something that helps us put Texas Tech behind our back.

'That being said, we have yet to put a 40-minute game together, but I'm proud of the guys and how we battled on the boards and throughout the game.”

Let us note Texas was picked to finish second behind Kansas in the Big 12 coaches' preseason poll, and three of those coaches tabbed the Longhorns to win the league. Iowa State was projected to finish fifth.

But ISU is 5-2 in the league after seven games that have stimulated antacid sales, while the Horns are 3-4. Each of the Cyclones' league games have been decided by six points or less. However, they are still perfect in Hilton.

Beware of the Longhorns in March. Beware of them when Iowa State goes to Austin on Feb. 21.

In Texas Coach Rick Barnes' postgame press conference, he spent a lot of time praising Niang. He chatted up Niang on the court in pregame warm-ups, and the conversation looked warm.

'I just love his persona, I just love the way he plays the game,” Barnes said.

Barnes said he went out to eat in Ames Monday and got into a discussion with Cyclone fans who expressed disappointment with Niang.

'I was like ‘Are you kidding me?'

'This is a crazy business. … I'd like to have him on my team, I can tell you that. He's a very tough matchup for anybody. … He's arguably the hardest guy in this league to defend and maybe means as much to his team as anybody.”

A crazy business is right. Hoiberg dwelled on all the good things his guys did in this game, saying 'When we get the ball moving like that tonight, it's fun to watch. It's a beautiful thing to watch.”

As for the 21-point lead getting shaved to 3, Hoiberg's closing song might as well have been Atlanta Rhythm Section's 'I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me Tonight.”

'I've been miserable for 48 damn hours,” he said. 'I'm going to enjoy this one.”