Iowa State Basketball routs Arizona State, sets Big 12 Tournament margin record
iowa state basketball delivered a record-setting Big 12 Tournament performance Wednesday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, rolling past Arizona State 91-42 in a second-round game. The 49-point margin became the largest victory in Big 12 Tournament history, a result shaped by relentless turnover pressure and a first-half lead that effectively settled the outcome before halftime.
Iowa State Basketball turns pressure into points
No. 7 Iowa State (26-6, 12-6 Big 12) picked up where it left off against Arizona State, again dictating the game with defensive disruption. Iowa State forced 15 Arizona State turnovers in the first half alone and finished with 23 turnovers forced, matching what it did in the earlier meeting in Ames. Across the last two contests against the Sun Devils, Iowa State forced a combined 46 turnovers, a two-game figure that explains how the Cyclones repeatedly turned possessions into separation on the scoreboard.
Iowa State’s advantage was already overwhelming by intermission. The Cyclones led 45-16 at the break, tying the Big 12 Tournament record for largest halftime lead in event history. The pattern suggests the blowout was less about a single hot shooting stretch and more about sustained control: once Arizona State could not initiate clean offense, the margin grew quickly and steadily rather than swinging with momentum.
Arizona State’s backcourt held to eight
Arizona State (17-16, 7-11 Big 12) struggled to generate efficient offense against Iowa State’s pressure and physicality. The Sun Devils were held to 42 points, and the context underscores how unusual that total was for this event: it marked the first time a Big 12 team scored under 50 in a tournament game since Houston did so in the title game against Iowa State in 2024.
The Sun Devils’ perimeter production collapsed. Arizona State went 1-for-19 from three-point range, good for five percent, and Iowa State outshot Arizona State by nearly 20 percent from the floor. Arizona State wing Santiago Troeut was the only Sun Devil in double figures with 13 points, buoyed by nine made free throws. Meanwhile, the Arizona State backcourt of Moe Odum and Pig Johnson combined for eight points, a number that captures the broader issue: when the primary ballhandlers cannot score or stabilize possessions, empty trips pile up and the game accelerates away.
Momcilovic, Jefferson, Buchanan drive 91
The offensive box score reflected Iowa State’s balance. Milan Momcilovic scored a game-high 21 points and made four three-pointers, giving the Cyclones a perimeter engine to pair with their defensive pressure. Joshua Jefferson added a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Blake Buchanan scored a season-high 17 points with six rebounds and also recorded two steals. Tamin Lipsey contributed 11 points, four assists, and two steals, a stat line that fits the theme of the afternoon: Iowa State’s guards and bigs both contributed to the disruption and the conversion.
The game’s turning points arrived quickly. After a sloppy opening where the teams combined for five turnovers in the first two minutes, Iowa State scored first at the 17: 58 mark on a Momcilovic layup, then jumped to a 7-0 lead and stayed in front wire-to-wire. A 16-0 run at the 8: 30 mark pushed the lead to 30, with Iowa State holding a 40-10 advantage during that surge. For Arizona State, even a 4-0 run to end the first half only moved the score to 45-16. The figures point to a game in which Iowa State’s best stretches were long enough to decide the contest outright, not brief bursts that required late management.
With the result secure, the key question shifts from how Iowa State won to what this level of control signals for the next round. Iowa State has now won at least one game in Kansas City in each of the last four seasons, and Wednesday’s performance showed the Cyclones can create a decisive margin without relying on a single scorer. Yet the context also leaves one open, practical test: whether Iowa State can carry the same turnover-forcing pace into a new matchup that begins on a short turnaround.
Next, iowa state basketball will face No. 16 Texas Tech on Thursday in the third round of the Big 12 Tournament. The game is scheduled to tip off at 11: 30 am ET, and Texas Tech will be playing its first game after earning a double bye.
