Iowa State Knocks Off #1 North Carolina

The Cyclones knocked off the #1 Tar Heels Final score of 70–65 on Black Friday.

Caleb Grill would open the game with a three pointer, and he would stay hotter than fish grease. After making some early threes, North Carolina got back in the game quickly thanks to Armando Bacot and some fouls committed by the Cyclones. Osun Osunniyi would quickly pick up two fouls in less than two minutes, both guarding Bacot.

North Carolina would wind up taking a 24-15 lead, stretching out the lead via three point shooting and some untimely Cyclone turnovers. Lipsey and Osun were a little careless with the ball at times, leading to easy UNC hoops.

Iowa State would stem the tide, thanks to a 1-3-1 defensive switch, and thanks to hoop after hoop from Holmes and Grill, who at one point accounted for 26 of the 30 Cyclone points. At the halftime buzzer, Iowa State trailed UNC 34-32. Bacot had 10, with Davis and Love adding 9 each. Grill led the Cyclones with 14 while Holmes added 12.

The second half was a back-and-forth affair, so eventually North Carolina would take the lead and hold it for a good stretch of the half. Foul trouble would continue to dog the Cyclones, as many players ended up with 3+ fouls.

The game ultimately swung on a big Cyclone run, keyed by continued insane shooting from Caleb Grill. He would ultimately end up with 31 points on 7-11 shooting from deep. His deep three with just over two minutes left would tie the game, and he would hit another deep two moments later. Some late turnovers combined with clutch free-throw shooting sealed the win.

What a win for the Cyclones, who advance to the Phil Knight invitational championship.