‘Connected’ Iowa State men’s basketball team routs Texas Tech to stay perfect in Big 12

AMES — Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey deftly dropped the bounce pass behind his back. Teammate Gabe Kalscheur calmly gathered it in at the top of the key, watched a defender fly by, set his feet and hoisted the long-range shot.

The result? One of many swishes Tuesday for Kalscheur, who scored 25 points to help the No. 14 Cyclones trample Texas Tech, 84-50, before a crowd of 13,464 at Hilton Coliseum.

“I’m putting the work in and I’ll continue to put the work in,” said Kalscheur, who shot 10-for-14 overall and 5-for-6 from 3-point range while adding a season-high and team-best seven rebounds. “I’m just going to trust in that.”

And in Lipsey, a true freshman who starts alongside four seniors who universally have dubbed him “the floor general.” The Ames native tied a season-high with eight assists, scored nine points and grabbed four rebounds. Lipsey’s also shooting 55.6 percent from the field and already is adept at finishing at the rim.

“We’ve been grinding, so we just stick to our daily habits,” Lipsey said. “We know that’s gonna come out for us in big games. We’re so connected. Everyone does what they need to do.”

The Cyclones (13-2, 4-0 Big 12) improved to 4-0 to start conference play for the first time since the 1999-2000 season. They closed the first half on a 20-3 run capped by Kalscheur’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lead 39-20 at halftime and unleashed a 14-0 run in the second half that fully finished off the struggling Red Raiders (10-6, 0-4).

“We had good pace,” ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “The ball movement was terrific. Guys were making simple plays for one another. A very unselfish group. A group that’s willing to take the best shot for our team each time down. Not worried about who that comes from and where it comes on the clock.”

Jaren Holmes added 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting for the Cyclones, who avenged a 72-41 loss to Texas Tech in last season’s Big 12 Tournament. Osun Osunniyi blocked two shots, but he appeared to roll his ankle on the second one — and Otzelberger said it’s too early to know the extent of his injury. Caleb Grill chipped in 14 points and ISU had more players with at least one offensive rebound (nine) than the Red Raiders had total offensive rebounds (seven).

“(There’s) a toughness and physicality and aggression that we’ve played with this past year and in years before that this team hasn’t embraced yet,” said Texas Tech coach Mark Adams, who described Tuesday’s setback as “a wake-up call.”

“It’s encouraging to see a team like Iowa State and the way they play. They play a lot like we did last year.”

The margin of victory for the Cyclones tied for sixth-largest all-time in program history against a conference opponent. ISU has never started 5-0 in league play — and Saturday the Cyclones will get a chance to do so at second-ranked Kansas.

“It’s still early January,” Otzelberger said. “We’ve got a lot in front of us so right now we’re just going to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing. Focus on those daily habits and get right back to work.”

Lipsey said the Cyclones’ are so tightly connected, nothing surprises him in terms of team success. Not the historic fast start, not Kalscheur’s recent flurry of hot shooting — and definitely not his 3-point make after the behind the back pass that came during that stirring 14-0 second-half run.

“I saw him in the corner of my eye and just hit it behind and I know he’s gonna make a play when he gets the ball,” Lipsey said of Kalscheur. “Right when he shot it, I knew it was going in, and that’s when Hilton gets loud.”

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