No. 10 Iowa State stuns top-ranked Purdue, 81-58, at Mackey Arena

Editor’s note: This story was written in Iowa

No. 10 Iowa State’s utterly dominant performance on Saturday at top-ranked Purdue begged the big-time question.

“Is this the new No. 1 team in the country?” Adam Zucker, the anchor of the CBS Sports studio crew asked.

His fellow commentators wouldn’t go that far, but they did fully acknowledge the Cyclones (9-0) put the nation on notice via an 81-58 blowout of the Boilermakers (8-1) before a flummoxed sold-out crowd at Mackey Arena.

Star forward Milan Momcilovic scored 13 of his game-high 20 points in the second half as ISU turned a 35-31 halftime lead into the most lopsided home setback for Purdue in a non-conference game in its nearly 130-year history.

“We were up four and we said we shouldn’t be content,” Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger said on the Cyclone Radio Network after his team notched its fifth win over a No. 1 team in program history — and third in his four-plus seasons at the helm. “So we talked to them about extending the margin. We weren’t content to be up four and be in the game. We didn’t come here to be in the game. We came here to be successful.”

ISU blitzed the Boilermakers throughout the second half by shooting 59.4 percent from the field, 58.3 percent from the 3-point line, and forcing 10 turnovers in the final 20 minutes.

The Cyclones were outscored 11-0 in points off turnovers as Purdue built its biggest lead of five points in the first half, but ended up with a 17-to-13 edge in that key statistic overall.

Freshman guard Killyan Toure scored 13 points and snared two steals. All-Big 12 senior guard Tamin Lipsey returned after missing three games because of a groin injury and compiled a stat line of nine points, five rebounds and a game-high tying eight assists.

“That’s really good for me to have my big brother (Lipsey) on the court,” Toure said. “I can be more focused on defense and still impact the game with my offensive bag.”

Forward Blake Buchanan put his grit-founded low-post bag on full display on Saturday, notching 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting and grabbing nine rebounds. He also blocked two shots and had a team-high four offensive boards as fellow forward Joshua Jefferson battled foul trouble.

“That’s the kind of player I am,” said Buchanan, who’s averaging 10.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in thew past four games. “I’m gonna play hard. I’m gonna do the little things.”

There was nothing small about the Cyclones’ victory in West Lafayette, Ind. ISU matched the largest margin of victory ever against an Associated Press No. 1 team on its home court, and led by as many as 27 points to the delight of at least one fan in attendance at Mackey Arena: Former Cyclone star Tyrese Haliburton.

“How bout them Cyclones!?!?,” the injured Indiana Pacers All-Star posted on social media after the game.

It’s just one game in early December, but Haliburton’s celebratory post begs another question: Is ISU among the top contenders for a national championship? At this point, it wouldn’t be going too far to say, ‘Yes’— and after Saturday's win, the Cyclones rose to No. 2 in the KenPom rankings.

“We knew we had to be our best today,” Otzelberger said. “Proud of our guys (by) how connected they were on both ends of the floor.”

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