AMES, Iowa -- Marial Shayok scored 24 points, and Iowa State routed No. 5 Kansas 77-60 on Saturday for its fifth consecutive victory.
Freshman Tyrese Haliburton made 4 three-pointers and scored 14 points for the Cyclones (12-2, 2-0), who opened Big 12 play with back-to-back victories for the first time since 2015 after forcing the Jayhawks (12-2, 1-1) into a season-high 24 turnovers.
Despite getting outrebounded 41-26, Iowa State made surprisingly easy work of Kansas in an early Big 12 test.
The Cyclones opened their first double-digit lead when Haliburton made a corner three-pointer with 9:59 to go. Lagerald Vick answered with a hasty three-point try that bounced off the bottom of the backboard, and Lindell Wigginton connected from long range to make it 60-47 and force Kansas Coach Bill Self to burn his third timeout in 11 minutes.
Shayok's three with just under seven minutes left put Iowa State ahead 65-49, and the rout was on.
Quentin Grimes scored 19 points for Kansas, and Dedric Lawson had 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The Jayhawks played without big man Udoka Azubuike, who was hit on the right wrist during Friday's practice. Self said about an hour before tip-off that X-rays on Azubuike's wrist were negative, but he was in too much pain to play.
Azubuike, who is averaging 13.4 points and 6.8 rebounds a game, is scheduled for an MRI today. Azubuike needed surgery to repair torn ligaments in his left wrist in 2017.
Losing at Hilton Coliseum isn't anything to be embarrassed about; the Cyclones are 5-2 against Top 10 teams at home under fourth-year Coach Steve Prohm, and Iowa State was actually a one-point favorite Saturday. But the Jayhawks were an absolute mess for stretches on offense -- and they wasted a plus-15 effort on the boards without Azubuike.
The Cyclones finally showed how much potential they have when they're healthy. There's little doubt that the rest of the Big 12 took notice of this result, because Iowa State has enough talent to do some serious damage in the league this winter.
In other Top 25/SEC men's games Saturday, freshman Zion Williamson had 25 points, 10 rebounds and a spectacular 360-degree dunk, and No. 1 Duke beat Clemson 87-68 in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener. ... Jordan Bowden scored 20 points and No. 3 Tennessee opened SEC play by trouncing Georgia 96-50 for its eighth consecutive victory. ... Kyle Guy scored 21 points -- 18 of those in the first half -- and No. 4 Virginia beat No. 9 Florida State 65-52. ... Anthony Mathis scored 27 points to help New Mexico hand No. 6 Nevada its first loss of the season, with the Lobos winning 85-58. ... Rui Hachimura scored 25 points and No. 7 Gonzaga beat Santa Clara 91-48 to open defense of its West Coast Conference regular-season title. ... Cassius Winston scored 25 points, Nick Ward added 21 and No. 8 Michigan State earned its eighth consecutive victory, this one over No. 14 Ohio State 86-77. ... Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 25 points to lead No. 10 Virginia Tech over Boston College 77-66, its eighth consecutive victory. ... Davide Moretti scored 19 points and Matt Mooney added 14 to help No. 11 Texas Tech hold off Kansas State 63-57. ... Tevin Mack scored 22 points, and Alabama topped No. 13 Kentucky 77-75 in the SEC opener for both teams. ... Cam Johnson scored 15 points in his homecoming, and No. 15 North Carolina rolled to a road win over Pittsburgh 85-60. ... Kristian Doolittle had 16 points and 8 rebounds, helping No. 23 Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 74-64. ... Chris Silva's dunk following a full-court pass with 2.5 seconds remaining gave South Carolina a 71-69 victory over Florida in the SEC opener for both teams. ... Breein Tyree scored a career-high 31 points, and Mississippi opened SEC play by beating Vanderbilt 81-71 for the Rebels' eighth consecutive victory.
Sports on 01/06/2019