AMES - For just under five minutes on Thursday night, Iowa State turned Hilton Coliseum into a pressure cooker, and Colorado couldn’t find the release valve.
It started with a Tamin Lipsey layup. Then Milan Momcilovic dialed it up from deep. And when freshman guard Jamarion Batemon buried a long-range three to cap the run, the scoreboard showed a 21-0 blitz that left the Buffaloes dazed and the Cyclones cruising.
By the time the final horn sounded, No. 8 Iowa State had wrapped up a dominant 97-67 win in front of a raucous, sold-out crowd of 14,267 - a statement victory that pushed the Cyclones to 19-2 overall and 6-2 in Big 12 play.
That first-half eruption didn’t just swing momentum - it broke the game wide open. Colorado, now mired in a six-game losing streak, never recovered. The Buffaloes came in with just one double-digit loss all season - by 11 at West Virginia - but this was something else entirely.
The Cyclones looked every bit the part of a top-10 team, firing on all cylinders. Batemon, the freshman off the bench, led the way with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including a blistering 4-of-6 from three-point range.
Momcilovic added 16, and in total, six Cyclones finished in double figures. This wasn’t a one-man show - it was a full-team performance, the kind that makes you take notice in late January.
Iowa State shot a scorching 61 percent from the field and 48 percent from deep. That kind of efficiency doesn’t just happen - it’s the product of crisp ball movement, confident shooting, and a team that’s clearly locked in. The Cyclones were surgical, especially during that 21-0 stretch, where every possession seemed to end with a clean look or a hustle play that swung the momentum further in their favor.
One of those hustle moments came when freshman guard Killyan Toure chased down a loose ball and kicked it out to Momcilovic, who calmly knocked down his first of two threes in the half. Later, Batemon drilled a triple while drawing contact, converting a four-point play that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
By halftime, ISU had hit 7-of-13 from beyond the arc and 63 percent overall. Colorado simply had no answers.
Even a 9-0 Buffaloes run in the second half - their best stretch of the night - barely made a dent. The Cyclones had already done the damage, and they never let off the gas.
Up next: a Sunday afternoon road test at Kansas State. The Wildcats are struggling, sitting at 10-8 overall and just 1-7 in Big 12 play, with five of those losses coming at home. But if this version of Iowa State shows up - the one that overwhelms you with depth, pace, and precision - it may not matter where the game is played.
Four wins in the last five meetings with Kansas State suggest the Cyclones know how to handle business in this matchup. And if Thursday night was any indication, they’re heating up at just the right time.