The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Iowa State
Men's Basketball tops No. 17/18 Iowa State 94-91 in overtime
01.12.2016 | Men's Basketball
Taylor leads five Longhorns in double digits with 28 points.
AUSTIN, Texas – Junior guard Isaiah Taylor paced a group of five Longhorns in double-figure scoring with a team-high 28 points to lead Texas over the No. 17/18 Iowa State Cyclones 94-91 in overtime at the Frank Erwin Center on Tuesday night. Taylor added six rebounds and six assists against just one turnover in 41 minutes during the victory.
The Longhorns (10-6, 2-2 Big 12) improved to 2-1 this season in games against Associated Press Top 25 opponents, including an 84-82 home win against then-No. 3 North Carolina on Dec. 12. UT also is 2-0 in overtime games this year. In addition to Taylor's big night, freshmen Tevin Mack and Eric Davis, Jr. added 14 points each, while seniors Javan Felix and Connor Lammert scored 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Georges Niang was one of six Iowa State players in double-figure scoring, as he led the Cyclones (12-4, 1-3) with 27 points and seven rebounds. Abdel Nader posted a double-double with 10 points and 16 boards, while Monte Morris added 17 points and seven asssits.
Lammert immediately got things rolling for the Longhorns with a 3-pointer just 21 seconds into the first half. The Longhorns sank a season-high nine threes in the first half, including three from Mack. Following back-to-back makes from beyond the arc from Demarcus Holland and Davis, Texas had a 22-20 lead with 11:14 remaining in the half.
Iowa State took a 36-33 lead following a dunk by Jameel McKay at the 4:50 mark, but the Longhorns forced the Cyclones to turn the ball over three times and used a 10-0 run over a 1:02 stretch to take a 43-36 lead with 2:43 remaining. Texas took a 49-38 into the locker room at the half.
Lammert scored the first five points of the second half with a jumper and a 3-pointer to keep Texas in front 54-44 with 17:11 remaining. The Longhorns stretched their cushion to 63-50 at the 13:51 mark following a pair of free throws from Davis, their largest lead of the game.
The Cyclones shot 67.7-percent from the field in the second frame on 21-of-31 shooting, including 19 points from Niang. Iowa State tied the game at 79 following a jumper from Nader with 4:09 remaining in regulation.
The Longhorns took a six-point lead following a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers from Taylor and Lammert. However, the Cyclones sank its last three shots from the field to force overtime with the score tied at 87.
Texas won the opening tip to start the overtime period and wasted no time to take the early lead, as a Felix layup put the Longhorns up 89-87 just 20 seconds into the period. Texas held the lead throughout the extra session, as a Taylor free throw gave the Longhorns a 94-91 leads with 22 seconds left.
Iowa State missed a pair of 3-point attempts in the final seconds which would have tied the score. Despite their hot shooting in the second half, the Cyclones shot 25-percent from the field on 2-of-8 shooting in overtime.
The Longhorns outscored the Cyclones 15-8 on second-chance points. Texas shot 48.6-percent from the field (36-of-74), including a 41.9-percent mark from behind the arc (13-of-31) en route to its second-highest scoring total of the season.
The Longhorns continue Big 12 play at home when they meet Oklahoma State on Saturday, Jan. 16. Tip is set for 5 p.m. Central at the Frank Erwin Center, and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 94, #17/18 Iowa State 91 OT
January 12, 2016
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 10,663
Team Notes
Texas improved to 2-1 this season in games against AP Top 25 opponents (also defeated No. 3 North Carolina on Dec. 12).
UT improved to 12-2 all-time against Iowa State in games played in Austin. The Longhorns have won seven of the last eight meetings against the Cyclones at the Erwin Center.
The Horns improved to 2-0 this season in overtime games (also defeated UT Arlington 80-73 in overtime on Dec. 1 in Austin). UT is 48-50 all-time in overtime games, including a 22-24 mark in home overtime contests (15-15 at the Erwin Center).
The 94 points scored by Texas marked the most points by the Longhorns in a Big 12 Conference game since a 95-83 home victory against Texas Tech on Jan. 27, 2010.
Texas recorded a 35-14 advantage in bench scoring and a 15-8 advantage in second-chance points.
The Longhorns committed a season-low 5 turnovers (previous low was 6 at TCU on Saturday).
UT had five players in double-figure scoring for the second time this season (UTSA on Dec. 8).
Seven different Texas players converted a 3-pointer during the victory.
Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the sixth time this year (16 games) and first time since Dec. 12 vs. North Carolina (span of 6 games)
Reached double figures in scoring (13 points) for the 11th time this year and 54th time in his career (115 games)
Set a career high in minutes played (31), previous high was 27 vs. Kansas State on Jan. 5
Recorded a game-high 4 blocks, one shy of his season and career high. It marked the third time this year that he has blocked at least 4 shots in a game
Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the second time this year and 14th time in his career (119 games)
Tied his career high in 3-pointers made (3-of-7) and tied his season high in FG made (4-of-9)
Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the third time this season (16 games)
Topped the 20-point mark (28 points) for the fifth time this year and 13th time in his career (75 games)
Reached double figures in scoring for the 13th time this season and 57th time in his career
Tied his career high in FG made (11-of-17) and 3-pointers made (2-of-3)
Set a season high in minutes played (41, two shy of his career high)
Posted 6 assists against 1 turnover, marking the 10th time this year that he has recorded at least 5 assists in a game
Set a season high in rebounds (7, one shy of his career high) and minutes (21)
Postgame Quotes
Texas
Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart
On team resiliency: It was much better. We asked our guys to stop getting so bummed out on the floor. We had to come up with a positive way to say that. We came up with the term "turned on." When you are out there on the court, you are either turned on or you're not. Tonight, Iowa State played great and made a lot of shots. They had a lot of answers. When we had a lead, their guys didn't give up, but we didn't drop our hands or get disconnected.
On second half adjustments: They were hurting us early on in rotation, and [Jameel] McKay kept getting early dunks or layups. We went with the smaller lineup, because other than McKay, those guys are all guards, you know [Georges] Niang is 6'8" but he is a guard. We thought D-Holland [Demarcus Holland] did a good job and other times we had to put other guys on him, but we made adjustments and were able to close strong.
On response to TCU loss: We were able to respond well to the TCU game and to the loss, but you have to do it again. It is not just set in stone now and we have it all figured out. We have to get better. We have to improve in a lot of areas, and we have to understand there are a set of things that go into winning and we did more of those things in this game than we did in our last game. You have to learn from that and do it again and it can't get old. The good teams are able to do it over and over and over again. They honor the process for what goes into winning. We are a ways away from that, but hopefully we can take a step toward that next game.
On contribution from the bench players: Kendal [Yancy] and Demarcus [Holland] gave us a big spark. They didn't shoot the ball a whole lot, but they were aggressive. They were able to give us a big lift on the defensive end, and they were able to give us a big lift with some effort plays. That has to be a hallmark of what we do in our program. That is how I have always wanted the team to play, but we haven't always played that way. We have to keep getting better and let those guys know that we value those plays.
Texas Players
Freshman Guard Eric Davis, Jr.
On the pace of the game: Isaiah [Taylor] set us up. Whenever Isaiah sets us up, we have a rhythm and a speed of the game. We like to play that way every game, but I give a lot of credit to Isaiah for setting us up and for finding us.
On the preparation of the young guys lifting the load from the seniors: Since Cam [Ridley] is out, our role just becomes slightly bigger. I try to help them as much as possible, lifting the load offensively. I haven't been really aggressive the last few games, but we have good leadership. Isaiah and all our seniors tell me to keep attacking and to score. That's what I do. They instill a lot of confidence in me. Fortunately, I was able to have a good game today.
Senior Forward Connor Lammert
On looking at this Iowa State game as last year's Big 12 tournament game: We did. Our coaching staff used it as a good motivation for us. We were 0-3 against them, so it wasn't just last year's Big 12 tournament. When we were up at halftime, that's where we were last year at the tournament. We just knew that we couldn't let up, because that is a veteran team over there in the other locker room. They were playing it cool because they have been in situations like that before. They are not going to get all riled up and give up, so we knew that we had that respect level for them and we couldn't be happy and fat about it. We had another half a game to play.
On learning to respond to adversity: It is something we address every day in practice. Honestly during the summer, [Coach] really wanted to instill that in us. Ever since then, he has held us accountable. The whole coaching staff has done a good job keeping us accountable. We are not perfect at it. He [Coach Smart] just makes us focus on things that we can control, not the referees, not the crowd, whether the shots go in or not. It's easy to respond when you focus on things that you can control.
Junior Guard Isaiah Taylor
On how it feels after the win: It feels good. We knew that Iowa State was going to come in here and fight. Both of our teams were coming off a loss, them at home versus Baylor and us away at TCU. We just want to come out here and just play with our team and stay connected. I think that we got some good stops there down the stretch to finish off the game.
On getting down on himself after TCU: I respect everything that Coach Smart says. He is like a father figure or mentor to us as players. I did get down on myself too much at TCU. Things were not going our way as a team. [Smart] focuses really on response, and I think that's what my team and I did today.
Iowa State
Iowa State Head Coach Steve Prohm
Opening Statement: Congratulations to Texas. They played a great game, especially the first half. I'm proud of our guys, the way they came back in the second half and competed and put it into overtime. We didn't get it done, and that's on me. We have a great group of kids, and we're going to get it right. I know it, I believe it. We're going to get back and get to work and it get it right. There's not much to say except tough losses, a couple of them, and we've got to get better. It starts with me, and we'll get it right. I know that.
On what has to be done for three-point defense: We get so spread out. Isaiah Taylor has hit seven threes all season, and he's a great player. I think he's a terrific player, but he's had seven threes all season. He had 2-for-3 tonight, pretty contested threes. Tevin Mack's a guy who almost shot 40 percent from three tonight. This was a team that's really struggled from the three-point line all season long. We have to be better in our gap defense. You get so spread out sometimes when the shot clock keeps going down, and now you give up better, bigger driving angles. Our second half defense was terrific. We were locked in, focused. Taylor made some tough plays at the end and slid into the defense, but our three-point defense percentage has to get better. I've never seen it this high, and we'll get it fixed. You can't give up 13 threes on the road, it's just too many. Some were tough, contested threes, and you have to live with those, but if it's drill penetration and getting beat off the bounce and we're in rotation and we're giving them up, then that's different.
Iowa State players
Senior Forward Georges Niang
On the defense tonight: Obviously, we gave up 49 points in the first half, and I feel like their run was pretty hard. We're just going to try to stick to the positives, and I felt like we battled back and are just a couple plays away from stealing games. That's just how the ball bounces, and we have to improve. A couple stops here and there, and we win this game. This is tough to take, but you have to learn from it and move on.
On the Texas threes: Tevin Mack hit four, and he's shooting 30 percent on the year. We have to play for percentages, and they were hungry for a win and shot the leather off the ball. It's frustrating, but we're not down and out. A couple of possessions here and there, and we win this game. Credit to them, they made more plays than we did.
Junior Guard Monté Morris
On the last possession of the game: Georges told me to go get a quick one. I thought I got hit on my way to the basket, but there wasn't a call. Coach was yelling to get a timeout, but we're going to live with it. They shot the leather off the ball, like Georges said, and you have to give them credit. Eric Davis had a tremendous boost off the bench, and especially Tevin Mack. When guys step up like that, it's hard to beat a team with their starters doing good also.
