College GameDay Boosts Iowa State, Downs Kansas, 86-81

College GameDay Boosts Iowa State, Downs Kansas, 86-81

AMES, Iowa — Ignoring the juiced building and a double-digit lead late in the game, Wayne Selden, Jr. pulled up for a crucial three-pointer to pull No. 9/10 Kansas back in it with 40 seconds to play until No. 11/13 Iowa State ultimately put it away. The Cyclones went on to win their first ESPN College GameDay, 86-81, Saturday night inside Hilton Coliseum.
 
The last unbeaten team in Big 12 play, Kansas (14-3, 3-1) brought its five-game win streak to a building where visitors rarely leave happy. Iowa State (13-3, 3-1) entered the matchup with 15-straight wins inside Hilton Coliseum and ended the night with 16. The Cyclones also carried lofty titles such as the Big 12’s best scoring offense, shooting efficiency and the nation’s assists leader, making them more than prepared to host the visiting Jayhawks.
 
Enjoying every bit of College GameDay’s first trip to Ames, the sold-out crowd was on lock. The start of the game didn’t necessarily match the intensity of the roaring crowd, but the end certainly did. With six minutes left, Kansas trailed by its largest margin of the game, 71-57. With less than 30 seconds to play, KU cut it to a single possession before late-game free throws sealed the Iowa State win.
 
Kansas got quite a scare when leading scorer and starting point guard, sophomore guard Frank Mason III, was taken off the floor with an injury in the second half. The scare was short as he returned to complete the game with a career-high 21 points. His scoring output and 8-for-14 field goals led the floor. In all, five Jayhawks tallied double-figures. Behind Mason, junior forward Perry Ellis collected his fourth double-double of the year with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Selden’s late three gave him 12 points for the night, while freshmen Kelly Oubre, Jr. and Devonte’ Graham each tallied 10 points apiece. The freshman duo had just three points between them at halftime before totaling 20 for the night. Oubre didn’t score in the opening half, but ended the night just two rebounds short of a double-double.
 
Iowa State’s leading scorers on the night, juniors Naz Long (20) and Georges Niang (15), also tallied major second-half points. Long scored four points in the first half, while Niang scored five.  Seven Cyclones scored on Saturday, and six of them were in double-digits. Senior Dustin Hogue followed them with 14 points. Facing Kansas for the first time, Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, senior guard Bryce Dejean-Jones scored 12 points.
 
Sophomore guard Monte’ Morris showed his status as the nation’s leader in assist-to-turnover ratio. He turned in a double-double with 11 points, 10 assists and just two turnovers.
 
Iowa State became just the second team this season – and 12th in the last 273 games – to shoot better than 50 percent against the Jayhawks (31-61).
 
Ellis kicked off the game with seven of KU’s first 10 points, scoring around the basket and draining a three. His second foul just six minutes in, however, paused his early scoring as he was relegated to the bench for the rest of the half. Midway through the first frame, Kansas was keeping the Cyclones off of their typical scoring pace, making just five of its first 15 shots, and took the lead on a Selden three-pointer, 15-14. Freshman guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk drained another, marking the fourth Jayhawk to land a punch from behind the arc in the opening minutes, a feat usually more common among the Cyclones.
 
Iowa State quickly turned the tables, getting buckets from its balanced cast to put together eight-straight points in the middle of an 11-2 run. Despite ISU’s scoring bump, back-to-back layups from freshman forward Cliff Alexander kept the Jayhawks close, 25-22. Even when the Cyclones got major makes, like the three-pointer from Hogue that pushed the lead to 34-28, Kansas stayed composed. Playing in his first conference road game, Graham nailed a three to pile on a mini 5-0 KU run. A last-second buzzer beater from Long got a roar from the fans, but gave ISU just a three-point cushion heading to halftime, 36-33.
 
Iowa State ran the table to open the final frame, shooting 60 percent while Kansas made just two of its first eight attempts. Out of the pause, Mason was there with the first boost and his second three of the night – but the starting point guard went down after that. KU’s athletic training staff was called to the floor to help Mason off of it.
 
Now without their leading scorer, the Jayhawks did what they could to pick him up. A fastbreak layup from Graham, Mason’s fellow point guard, started it off. Then Ellis, who joins Mason as the team’s other leading scorer, let loose. He swished his second three, hit KU’s first free throws of the game and then made good on a layup. The Jayhawks were right back in it, 55-53. Just in time for Mason to rejoin his crew.
 
The Cyclones were there to spoil his return to the game, piling on a quick 11-2 run to put distance between the two in a hurry. A put-back dunk by Ellis was all that dented the ISU run. Long broke out for five-straight points to watch the onslaught stretch to 16-4. With just over six minutes to play, Kansas fell to its largest deficit of the game, 71-57.
 
Not interested in Hilton magic, Kansas kept coming. Graham hit his second three, the first time in his young career that he’s connected on multiple treys, and KU pulled within single digits. The lay-in from Oubre cut it down even further. With two minutes to play, Kansas trailed by just four points, 74-70.
 
While Iowa State is known for its sharp-shooting from deep, the Cyclones ability to finish around the rim made the difference in the final moments. Morris and Hogue went for a layup and a dunk to double the lead. Six free throws in the final minutes were enough to hold off the Jayhawks, 86-81.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will return to Allen Fieldhouse to host Oklahoma on Monday, Jan. 19, at 8 p.m., in its first of four ESPN Big Monday appearances during the 2014-15 season. KU will then hit the road for two games when it plays at Texas on Saturday, Jan. 24, at 1 p.m., on CBS and at TCU on Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m., on ESPNU.
 
POSTGAME NOTES 
KU STARTERS (Season/Career Starts): So. G Frank Mason, III (17/20), So. G Wayne Selden, Jr. (17/52), Fr. G Kelly Oubre, Jr. (9/9), Jr. F Perry Ellis (17/54), Jr. F Jamari Traylor (8/9)

SERIES INFO: Kansas leads, 175-61

ATTENDANCE: 14,384 (14,376 capacity)
 
KANSAS’ LOSS…

  • Made Kansas 14-3 overall and 3-1 in Big 12 play.
  • Saw Kansas go 2-2 in true road games this season and 6-3 in games away from Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Kept Kansas’ lead in the all-time series record against Iowa State to 175-61, including 68-38 in games played in Ames and 29-20 inside Hilton Coliseum.
  • Gave Iowa State consecutive wins against the Jayhawks for the first time since ISU won five-straight from Feb. 28, 1999 to Feb. 17, 2001.
  • Moved head coach Bill Self to 339-72 while at Kansas, 21-5 against Iowa State (20-5 at Kansas) and 546-177 overall.
  • Made KU 2,140-825 all-time.

 
TEAM NOTES

  • Kansas’ 81 points were the most allowed by the Cyclones this season.
  • Saturday marked the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons that Kansas lost in back-to-back ESPN College GameDay appearances given the 72-65 loss at Oklahoma State in last season’s GameDay event (vs. Texas A&M; L, 66-69; 2/4/07 and at Texas; L, 55-80; 2/25/06).
  • The two teams both had five or more players reach double figures. Kansas Frank Mason III (21), Perry Ellis (19), Wayne Selden, Jr., (12), Kelly Oubre, Jr., (10), Devonte Graham (10). Iowa State registered six players with 10 or more points: Naz Long (20), Georges Niang (15), Dustin Hogue (14), Bryce Dejean-Jones (12), Jameel McKay (11), Monte Morris (11). That marks the third time that’s happened for Kansas this season (vs. UNLV, 1/4/15; vs. Lafayette, 12/20/14).
  • Kansas committed 10 turnovers in the first half for the fourth time this season. KU is now 2-2 in such contests, despite cutting that number in half in the second 20 minutes.
  • For the seventh time this season, Kansas trailed at half and is now 4-3 in those games. In 2013-14, KU also trailed at halftime seven times, but was 1-6.
  • The Jayhawks did not attempt a free throw in the first half, the first time that’s happened since the first half against Michigan in the 2013 NCAA Tournament (3/29/13).
  • KU didn’t shoot its first free throws of the game until the 10:35 mark of the second. Junior F Perry Ellis hit them both. The Jayhawks finished 8-for-10 from the line.
  • By halftime, five different Jayhawks made threes. That’s the sixth time this year that five or more players hit threes in a game and is second only to the Texas Tech contest (1/10) when seven Jayhawks connected from behind the arc.
  • KU outrebounded Iowa State 44-33. Kansas has now outrebounded 13 of 17 opponents this season, but that’s the first time KU has lost a game this year when outrebounding the opponent (12-1).
  • Ellis and sophomore G Wayne Selden, Jr. each fouled out, marking the first time two KU players fouled out in a game since Tarik Black and Naadir Tharpe (vs. Stanford, 3/23/14).

 
INDIVIDUAL NOTES

  • Sophomore G Frank Mason III chalked up a career-high 21 points, extending his double-figure streak to 14-straight games. That ties Jeff Withey’s 14-game span in the 2012-13 season.
  • Mason connected on two three-pointers on Saturday and has now tallied at least one three in 15 of his 17 outings this season.
  • For the first time this season, sophomore F Landen Lucas was the first Jayhawk off the bench. Freshmen G Devonte’ Graham and F Cliff Alexander joined him as KU’s first subs, which marks a team-high 14th time for Alexander.
  • Junior F Perry Ellis made seven of KU’s first 10 points before committing his second foul with 13:45 to play. He didn’t play again in the first half, and made the most of his second-half time. He finished the game with 19 points and 11 rebounds, his fourth double-double of the year and the 10th of his career.
  • His two three-points at ISU gives him 10 for the season, a career-best for Ellis.
  • In the last three games dating back to last season against Iowa State Ellis is now 26-of-38 from the field (68 percent), averaging 23 points and eight rebounds. For his career, he averages 15.7 points in his seven games against Iowa State (110 points total).
  • Freshman G Kelly Oubre, Jr., scored all 10 of his points in the second half. He registered two steals, marking the fourth-straight game he’s collected multiple steals.
  • Since returning from an injury suffered against Georgetown on Dec. 10, 2014, freshman G Devonte’ Graham has recorded 13 assists without a single turnover in 60 combined minutes of play over the last three games.

 
  
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