Small ball pays dividends again as Iowa State holds off Texas, 79-70

AMES - The matchup pitted experience versus youth.

Experience won out, but youth didn't go away easily.

The experience of the Iowa State men's basketball team, and the ability to make timely shots in the final few minutes, ultimately put away a young Texas team 79-70 on Saturday night.

As much as the final result was about experience and youth, it was also about small against big. The Cyclones (10-4, 2-1) once again got a lift from their small lineup to go against the young Longhorns (7-8, 1-2) forwards.

'We just played Texas and Baylor who has great size and we did it,” said Iowa State coach Steve Prohm. 'It was good against (Texas) Tech.

'We feel a lot more comfortable and I feel a lot more comfortable. We spent a lot more time with it over the last couple of weeks and I think offensively when we've got people five out and spread out, I think we've been good.”

Another reason those smaller lineups worked is because Deonte Burton was as productive offensively as he's been in weeks. The senior forward had a game-high 27 points on 12-for-17 shooting and added five rebounds in 33 minutes.

'I think that (his 29 points against Gonzaga) was a little different than this 27 to be honest with you,” Prohm said. 'That Gonzaga game was really up and down. It was tough shot versus tough shot. That game was really fast-paced and really up and down.

'I thought he really executed in the half court tonight. This was probably his best game offensively all year.”

Where Burton has lacked at times in the last few weeks has been his decision-making and ability to finish in the paint. He did have four turnovers, but added three assists with two blocks and two steals while grabbing five rebounds.

'My teammates gave me the confidence before the game,” Burton said, 'because we talked before the game and they told me that I need to pick it up and I did.”

When the 6-foot-5 Burton - who also went 3-for-4 from 3-point range - can be as efficient offensively as he was against Texas, his athleticism makes him a tough matchup for bigger defenders.

'Burton was an individual matchup they did a great job exploiting,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. 'He played well. If Morris and Long and Thomas have the games they have and we can hold Burton down a little bit better, maybe it's a different game.”

As much as Iowa State's small lineup can help offensively, there are aspects that can be useful on defense.

Iowa State allowed Texas to shoot 52.9 percent from the field and 50 percent from long range, but forced a Longhorns' season-high 19 turnovers - 12 of which came in the first half. The Cyclones scored 20 points off those turnovers and were able to bait some of the younger Texas guards into tough situations.

Guard Kerwin Roach Jr. had a team-high 21 points with five assists. Tevin Mack (15), Andrew Jones (14) and Jarrett Allen (11) were the other Longhorns that scored in double figures.

'Going small sometimes we give up size but we do it a lot enough in practice and we were all comfortable out there,” Morris said. 'We knew we had to rebound, gang rebound, and we played to our strength once the ball was rebounded and we ran and did that tonight.”

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