AP Photo/Adam Hunger
Gabe Kalscheur scored 30 points to lead the unranked Iowa State men’s basketball team to a 78-59 win over No. 9 Memphis in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship on Friday from Brooklyn, New York’s Barclays Center.
The senior guard added eight rebounds and five steals for a Cyclones team that benefitted from Memphis’ 22 turnovers and a 19-of-53 (35.8 percent) shooting night.
Emoni Bates led the Tigers with 12 points and three blocks. Fellow 5-star recruit and freshman Jalen Duren had an off night with two points and five turnovers.
Memphis only had one lead, when Lester Quinones hit a jumper 10 seconds into the matchup for a 2-0 edge. Iowa State responded with an 8-0 run.
The Tigers later tied the game at 25, but the Cyclones closed the half on a 7-2 spurt.
The second half was all Iowa State. Kalscheur started the half on a personal 6-0 run capped by a four-point play for a 38-27 lead:
Iowa State later went on a 31-13 run to take a 75-51 lead. Senior forward Aljaz Kunc went on a personal 7-0 run during that stretch, with this bucket serving as the highlight:
He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
The Cyclones led by as many as 25 en route to the 19-point victory. Their dominance on the boards helped, as they out-rebounded Memphis 42-34.
Iowa State looks like it’s defying preseason expectations that placed the Cyclones last in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll.
The 6-0 Cyclones now have two wins over Top 25 programs after being No. 25 Xavier 82-70 in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals.
This game marked the 5-1 Tigers’ first loss of the season. They had outscored their opponents by an average of 17.8 points entering the game.
Both teams play next on Wednesday.
Iowa State will now host the 0-7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at 8 p.m. ET. Memphis will visit the 2-4 Georgia Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m.
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