Iowa State Falls to No. 4 Texas 78-72

The last-place Iowa State Cyclones (2-6, 0-4) kept it close all game long but ultimately fell in Austin, Texas to the No. 4 Texas Longhorns (9-1, 3-0) by a score of 78-72 on Jan. 5.

Despite being on Longhorn Network, I was actually able to watch this game somehow, so I can give an accurate recap of this game.

With 1:11 left, junior Javan Johnson, who had a career-high 21 points, made a layup to cut the Longhorn lead to six. On the other end, senior Matt Coleman III responded with a jumper at the end of the shot clot to extend the lead back to six.

Johnson did respond with a three-point play with 28 seconds left, but Texas iced the game from the free-throw line down the stretch to stay in first-place of the Big 12.

Solomon Young, Rasir Bolton and Jalen Coleman-Lands joined Johnson in double-figures. Young scored 13 on 6-10 of shooting while Bolton and Coleman-Lands both added 10 apiece.

The Cyclones were never in a position to win the game but were always within striking distance for most of the contest. The Longhorns led by 15 for a short period of time in the early second half, but the Cyclones kept the deficit under 10 for most of the day.

Junior Andrew Jones led the way for the Longhorns, gritting out a 23-point performance on 10-20 shooting. The entire starting five joined him in double digits, making it a balanced day for Shaka Smart’s team.

Neither team shot particularly well from deep, Iowa State was just 7-22 from downtown, and Texas was only 8-26. On the flip side, both teams only had eight turnovers.

Overall, Iowa State competed well and impressed once again, but the talent discrepancy was clear in this one. Despite the cover on the road against a top-five team, Steve Prohm and his team have now lost their first four Big 12 games.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday, Texas travels to Morgantown to face No. 14 West Virginia at noon. Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum and will play No. 18 Texas Tech at 3:00 p.m.