The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
13-7, 4-4
Iowa State
11-8, 2-6
Men's Basketball bounces back with 73-57 victory over Iowa State
01.22.2018 | Men's Basketball
Freshman forward Mohamed Bamba posted his ninth double-double of the season and a career-high 24 points.
AUSTIN, Texas –– Freshman forward Mohamed Bamba scored a career-high 24 points, and junior guard Kerwin Roach II tied his career high with 22 points to power Texas Men's Basketball to a 73-57 win over Iowa State on Monday night at the Frank Erwin Center. Bamba added 12 boards for his ninth double-double of the season (fifth in the first eight Big 12 Conference games), while Roach II tied a career high with four 3-pointers and dished out four assists in 34 minutes.
Junior guard Eric Davis Jr. tallied 11 points, including 6-of-6 from the charity line. Junior forward Dylan Osetkowski rounded out the double-digit scoring for UT with 10 points and six boards.
The Longhorns finished 25-of-57 (43.9%) from the field, including a 40 percent clip from beyond-the-arc, and outscored Iowa State 30-20 in paint scoring. UT also tied a team season high in free throw percentage, converting 12-of-15 (.833) from the stripe.
Texas sprinted out to an 11-4 lead behind three 3-pointers from Roach II in the opening four minutes. Bamba recorded five straight points to extend the Longhorn advantage to double-digits (20-9) with 12:07 remaining in the first half.
UT held a 36-21 lead at the 3:09 mark after eight points from Bamba fueled a 13-4 run over a five-minute stretch. Texas was held scoreless for the final 3:08, and the Longhorns headed to the break leading by nine (38-29).
Bamba paced Texas in the opening half with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting and brought down eight boards in just 12 minutes. Roach II added 12 points and was 4-of-4 from behind the three-point line. The Longhorns shot 44 percent (14-of-32) from the field in the first half, including 5-of-11 (45%) from deep. UT held a 13-2 margin in second-chance points and forced seven ISU turnovers.
Iowa State pulled within seven (43-36) after a 5-0 spurt with 15:36 to play in the second half, but the Longhorns responded with four straight points to regain a double-digit (47-36) lead. A Cyclone 3-pointer trimmed the Texas lead to 49-43, but UT answered with a Roach II dunk and a Bamba 3-pointer to build a 54-43 lead and force an ISU timeout at the 11:50 mark.
Davis Jr. connected from deep to stretch the Texas lead to 16 (65-49) with 6:25 to play, but the UT lead was cut to 65-57 after an 8-0 Cyclone run over a four-minute period. The Longhorns outscored Iowa State 8-0 in the final minute and didn't allow an ISU field goal over the final 4:52 to secure the 73-57 win.
Lindell Wigginton and Nick Weiler-Babb led the Cyclones with 15 points each. Cameron Lard added a double-double for Iowa State with 12 points and 12 boards.
Texas will be back at the Erwin Center to face Ole Miss as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 27. Tip is slated for 1 p.m. Central, and the contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
Texas 73, Iowa State 57
January 22, 2018
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 9,123
Team Notes
- Texas improved to 21-16 all-time in the series against Iowa State. The Longhorns have now won 15 of the last 23 meetings between the two teams (dating back to the start of the 2005-06 season).
- The Longhorns improved to 14-2 all-time against Iowa State in games played in Austin. Texas has won nine of the last 10 meetings against the Cyclones in Austin.
- UT improved to 496-121 all-time in games at the Erwin Center. Texas improved to 224-38 at the Erwin Center in the last 16 seasons (dating to the start of the 2002-03 season). UT is 33-12 at home during the Shaka Smart era (9-2 this season).
- Texas tied a team season high in FT percentage (.833, 15-18). UT also hit 83.3% (10-12) against Butler on Nov. 23. The Longhorns hit 10-of-11 free throws (.909) in the second half.
- The Longhorns posted a 30-20 advantage in points in the paint, a 16-5 margin in second-chance points and a 17-9 advantage in bench scoring.
- Texas held Iowa State to 57 points on 38.9% FG shooting (21-54), including a 35.3% mark (6-17) from three-point range.
- UT posted a 12-to-8 assist-to-turnover ratio on the evening. The 8 turnovers marked the fewest committed by the Longhorns, since UT had 5 turnovers in the season opener against Northwestern State (Nov. 10).
- Posted a career high in scoring (24 points) – previous high was 22 vs. Kansas (Dec. 29)
- Tied his career high in field goals made (9-11), free throws made (4-4) and steals (2)
- Set a career high in three-pointers made (2-2)
- Recorded his ninth double-double (24 points, 12 rebounds) of the year (19 games), including his fifth in Big 12 play (8 games)
- Topped the 20-point mark for the second time this year
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 14th time this season
- Reached double figures in rebounds for the 13th time this season. Six of his 12 boards came on the offensive glass.
- Added 3 blocked shots and has registered at least 2 blocks in all 19 contests
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the seventh time this season (18 games) and 30th time in his career (84 games)
- Tied his career high in FT made (6-6)
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the 16th time this season (20 games)
- Tied his career high in scoring (22 points). Previously had 22 vs. TCU on Jan. 26, 2016.
- Tied his career high in field goals made (8-15). Previously had 8 FG made vs. UT Arlington on Nov. 29, 2016.
- Tied his career high in three-pointers made (4-4). Hit all 4 threes in the first half. Previously hit 4 threes at Iowa State on Jan. 7, 2017.
- Topped the 20-point mark for the second time this year (18 games), the second time in the last three games and the fourth time in his career (83 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 11th time this season and 37th time in his career
POSTGAME QUOTES
TEXAS
Head Coach Shaka Smart
On the motto of "somebody's got to pay" after the West Virginia game : That's not specific to this game. We have a principle called, "we fail forward," so if we lose a game or go through some type of failure, we want to go forward. Our mindset should be that the next opponent has got to pay. I thought our guys did a really good job of playing with good fight. On the defensive end, they're really hard to guard because their guards are so aggressive and dangerous from the outside.
On getting off to a quick start after the West Virginia game: If we can have four threes from him (Roach) in a half, it gives us a heck of a boost. It was important. We talked about getting off to a quick start, especially with the game being early. (We wanted to) create our own energy and make sure we started the game with a very, very aggressive defensive mindset. Iowa State is a team, if you let their guards get going early and feel good about themselves, then those three guys can really hurt you.
On playing one league game in the next eight days: Well our guys get a little tired and we have nine days where we don't play a Big 12 game--not that playing an SEC team is any easier--but just getting a little bit of a break from the league (is nice) when you know going into the last five weeks of conference play, there are going to be a ton of battles. Physically, we have some guys that are banged up. Snoop (Roach II) has to get his hand all the way back, Matt has played heavy minutes, Dylan has played heavy minutes, so getting some rest for those guys is going to be big.
On Bamba's progression: His motor has really improved. I think he still has a ton of upside to him. He has really responded better and quicker, where before it took him longer and more time. He's gaining a lot more respect as we play for guys who, in high school, didn't have as big of a name as he, and understanding that those guys can kick his butt if he's not going 100 percent. I thought tonight was about as clean of a game as he's played in terms of efficiency. For those of you guys who were giving me a hard time about his threes, he was 2-for-2. He can make the shot. It's a weapon for us if teams are going to leave him wide open.
Freshman Forward Mohamed Bamba
On being blocked and using it as motivation: You kind of use every play as some sort of motivation and even before the game. You kind of use something as motivation to just keep coming at them, because he wasn't going to block all of them.
On building off of the loss to West Virginia: There was so much to build on from that. It was obviously a tough loss. It was a quick turnaround and we kind of had to go into self-reflection mode and just build off of what we could have done better. Our motto coming into this was, "someone has to pay for it." Unfortunately for Iowa State it was them, but the league is very competitive and you don't want to go on a losing streak.
Junior Guard Kerwin Roach II
On improved shooting after injury: It helped a lot. The time I spent off, I practiced a lot of form shooting, got my mechanics together, slowed down and really started taking my shots, taking my time and not rushing it.
On getting the ball to Bamba: I know how it feels to be a dog on defense and go on offense and not get the ball, especially for a big. He does everything for us, blocks shots, rebounds the ball, everything. So I'm trying to get him the ball. He deserves it.
IOWA STATE
Head Coach Steve Prohm
On losing on the road: We can't give up 40 points in the half on the road. We just didn't have a rhythm and a pace offensively. It is hard to win shooting 38 percent on the road. I heard somebody say a long time ago, "you are playing their record at home, you are not playing their overall record."
On the last four minutes of the game: I know we missed a layup or two along the way. We tried to go small the last couple of minutes and I don't know if that was a factor. It wasn't good for us.
On the length and size of the team and Bamba: I don't know how many blocks he had, but he was a big presence today. I think their length and size bothered us a lot tonight.
Freshman Forward Cameron Lard
On losing on the road: I go out and play my same every night--give it my all. (I) just couldn't finish tonight.
Junior Guard Nick Weiler-Babb
On lack of scoring at the end of the game: I think we just got to get it--myself and other guys--we just have to get something on the board. We forced a lot in the last four minutes tonight, and I think that's a lot of what is happening.
On what the issue on offense is: We get lost sometimes. We get off the same page and it's evident on the road. We aren't playing very well. Whether it's Kansas, Texas, anyone on the road, we've got to play defense.
