Iowa State didn’t just beat Southern on Tuesday night. The Cyclones smothered it.
After dropping out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since January of 2024 following the loss to Memphis, Iowa State needed a clean response at home. It got one in emphatic fashion, using a suffocating defensive effort to bury Southern early and never let the game breathe.
The tone was set immediately. Iowa State came out locked in on that end of the floor, and after a rough defensive showing against Memphis, the group looked much sharper against Southern Miss and then even better against Southern on Tuesday. That edge showed up right away in the form of a 20-0 run to open the game, which basically turned the night into a formality.
By halftime, the Cyclones were in complete control at 41-18. The defense had been relentless, but there was also plenty of offense to go around.
Nine different Iowa State players scored in the first half, giving the game a balanced feel even with Tre Singleton running into foul trouble. The sophomore has been one of the team’s best players to start the season, and he got off to a strong start before picking up three fouls.
Jamarion Batemon was one of the more aggressive options early. The sophomore guard hasn’t had the smoothest start to the year, but he led Iowa State with 10 points at the break, going 3-for-9 from the field and 2-for-8 from deep.
The second half brought more of the same. Iowa State didn’t let up, and the offense stayed spread out as the starters logged more minutes than expected in a game that was already out of hand. Still, the bigger story was what the Cyclones did defensively from start to finish.
Southern finished with just 47 points, and the performance stood out as one of the most suffocating defensive showings any team will put together this season. For Iowa State, that was the real headline from a blowout that did exactly what it needed to do.
Next up is Niagara as Iowa State moves closer to its trip to Las Vegas for the Players Era.
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