AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Less than a week ago, Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg lamented the way his team handled the challenges presented by close games on the road.
He’s thrilled now.
Georges Niang and Matt Thomas scored 17 points each to help No. 14 Iowa State beat Texas 85-77 on Saturday.
Iowa State (20-6, 10-4 Big 12) won its second straight Big 12 road game, something the Cyclones had not accomplished since the 2005-06 season. They had lost six straight at Texas since their only victory over the Longhorns in Austin in 2005.
The Cyclones, 7-0 at home in the conference, improved to 3-4 on the road. After suffering tough losses at Kansas and Oklahoma, they beat Oklahoma State and Texas in a span of four days.
Kendal Yancy led Texas (17-10, 6-8) with a career-best 29 points, 18 more than his average. He scored 21 in the second half. Isaiah Taylor scored 17 of his 23 in the second half, matching his career high for points in a game.
Iowa 74, Nebraska 46
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Iowa made fast work of Nebraska by playing some of its best basketball of the season in the last five minutes of the first half.
The Hawkeyes scored on nine straight possessions before half to build a 26-point lead, and they never let the Cornhuskers get closer than 21 the rest of the way in rout Sunday.
Aaron White had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks (17-10, 8-6 Big Ten), who got the performance they needed on the road against the conference’s 10th-place team. Iowa’s NCAA tournament hopes had taken a hit the last week or so, with a home loss to Minnesota and an overtime loss at Northwestern followed by a home win over Rutgers.
Peter Jok scored 14 points and Jarrod Uthoff had 11 points and four blocked shots for the Hawks, who swept the season series against Nebraska (13-14, 5-10)