Reese Strickland, USA Today
Reese Strickland, USA Today
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It was a sharp turnaround for the Cyclones (17-5, 7-3) from their surprising 78-73 loss at Tech  (12-12, 2-9) two weeks earlier.

Jameel McKay scored 17 points on 7-for-7 shooting in his first start to lead the Big 12 Conference’s top scoring offense and keyed a sterling effort on the defensive end that carried the Cyclones to the victory. Naz Long added 15 points for Iowa State, which shot 56 percent and gave up the fewest points in a conference game since a 54-38 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 9, 1967.

"Having lost a big one down there, we took this personal," Long said. "We were taking a lot of hits defensively, so we took that upon ourselves to keep our guys in front us, run guys off the 3-point line and I feel like we did a good job of that."

Texas Tech had burned Iowa State in Lubbock, going 11-for-24 from 3-point range, in the first match up. They faced a much more determined defense on Saturday, missing their first eight shots from 3-point range and finishing 4-for-20 from behind the arc.

It all left Tech coach Tubby Smith a little shocked and puzzled.

"We had a good shootaround this morning. We worked hard yesterday," he said. "We've been working on shooting a lot, in-between shots, 3-point shots. It's all concentration and confidence. When you lack, it can be a long day."

Toddrick Gotcher led Tech with 11 points, all but two in the first half. Davaughntah Williams struggled after a couple of big outings. He scored 22 in the first game with Iowa State and 22 in a victory over Kansas State, but had just four on Saturday on 2-for-9 shooting.

Texas Tech returns to the court when they play host to the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks at 7 pm Tuesday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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