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 The Cyclones were getting hammered -- down 20 to Oklahoma --
before the call kicked off a huge Iowa State run and fueled a 77-70
win.
Oklahoma had all the momentum about five minutes into the second
half, extending their lead to 20, 48-28, when Sooners junior forward
Ryan Spangler blocked the shot of Iowa State junior forward Georges
Niang out of bounds.
But OU junior guard Isaiah Cousins was called for a technical foul
for abusive language on the play and the Cyclones used it to get
back into the game.
Niang hit both free throws, then scored with a quick three-point
play and the Iowa State run was on.
"That's two points," Sooners coach Lon Kruger said. "I don't know
that it was anything more than that. Could've happened at any point.
Isaiah just applauded the blocked shot and he should've have done
it."
By the time the Sooners scored again, they trailed.
Iowa State ripped off 22 consecutive points to take their first lead
less than six minutes after Cousins' technical.
The Cyclones scored on seven consecutive possessions to start the
run. Niang and sophomore guard Monte Morris combined for 18 of Iowa
State's points during the stretch.
While Kruger might've downplayed the technical's impact, Niang saw
things differently.
"I think when someone gets in your face telling you how they're
kicking your butt, you're going to retaliate in some way and luckily
we retaliated in the right way. I think that was the push that we
needed."
Niang led the Cyclones (21-8, 11-6 Big 12) with 23 before fouling
out in the final minute while Morris added 19 and junior forward
Jameel McKay 14.
After scoring just 28 points in the first 25 minutes of the game,
Iowa State scored 49 in the final 15.
"I didn't go in there and jump on them," Hoiberg said of his
halftime speech. "I talked about going out and playing the right
way."
After being dominated on the glass in the first half, Iowa State
outrebounded Oklahoma 28-16 in the second half and outscored the
Sooners 19-4 off turnovers.
After Cousins' technical, the Sooners were 5 of 19 from the floor
with eight turnovers and were just 12 of 20 from the free-throw
line.
"We weren't too comfortable," Oklahoma junior guard Buddy Hield said
of the Sooners' approach in the second half. "We know what they're
capable of doing. At halftime, I told the guys to stay poised and
they made their run. It's tough when that crowd's going crazy and
stuff like that but they did their job. We had a good first half and
they stormed back on us."
Hield led the Sooners with 26 points.
The outcome guarantees Kansas a share of the Big 12 regular-season
title for the 11th consecutive season.
Oklahoma (20-9, 11-6 Big 12) hosts the Jayhawks on Saturday in the
teams' regular-season finales.
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But Iowa State took a little bit of the luster off that matchup
with a huge second-half comeback.
The Cyclones had a 21-game home winning streak snapped the week
before against Baylor and for most of the game it looked like the
Sooners would make it two consecutive home losses for Iowa State.
The game was important not only for the Big 12 race but also the
possibility of staying close to home in the NCAA Tournament.
The Sooners and Cyclones are among the teams battling for one of two
spots in Omaha -- the only early-round site in the Central time zone
this season -- for high-seeded teams.
Oklahoma poured it on early, jumping out to a 19-point lead by
halftime.
The Sooners did it with a 22-16 rebounding edge, by turning 10 Iowa
State turnovers into 12 first-half points and with a 7-0 edge in
second-chance points.
Cousins helped fuel a 9-0 run late in the half with his midcourt
steal from Iowa State junior forward Abdul Nader and breakaway dunk
that forced a timeout from Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg.
Iowa State went more than eight minutes between field goals during
the stretch.
About the only bright spot for the Cyclones before the break was
McKay, who scored 10 of Iowa State's season-low 18 first-half points
on 5-of-7 shooting.
Oklahoma led 37-18 at the break.
In the teams' first meeting, a 94-83 Sooners win, the game was tied
at 46 at halftime.
NOTES: Oklahoma junior F Ryan Spangler had eight rebounds in the
first half. Spangler, last season's Big 12 leader in rebounding, had
just four in the previous two games combined. ... Iowa State came in
with six players averaging in double figures. No Big 12 team has
ever finished with six players averaging 10 or more points. ... The
Cyclones wrap up the regular season at TCU on Saturday while
Oklahoma hosts Kansas. ... Iowa State honored its seniors -- Fs
Dustin Hogue and Daniel Edozie and G Bryce Dejean-Jones-before the
game. ... Oklahoma signee Akolda Manyang, a 7-foot center who plays
at nearby Indian Hills Community College, sat behind the Sooners
bench.
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