No. 14 Iowa State pulls away from Georgia State
AMES, Iowa — So much for that tightness Iowa State point guard Monte Morris felt before Monday's game against Georgia State. Once he got past that, it was clear sledding toward another of those eye-popping statistical lines that have become his norm.
Morris scored 19 points, had nine assists, five rebounds, and zero turnovers while playing all but 2 minutes of an 81-58 victory before a crowd of 13,913 at Hilton Coliseum.
"In the first half, we were tight — scared to make plays," Morris said after the 14th-ranked team on which he plays improved its record to 2-0. "Coach wanted us to come out in the second half with better pace, and we did. We got good shots. Everything was moving."
Everything was moving the Cyclones' way after leading 35-29 at the break. Naz Long made two long 3-pointers, Bryce Dejean-Jones scored 11 points after intermission and, of course, Morris did his thing.
"Monte was awesome," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Look at his line — 19-9-5 and no turnovers — and a nice block at the end. He makes us go. He's the guy out front offensively and defensively."
It took a while, however, for Iowa State to pull away from a team many college basketball experts also have pegged for the NCAA Tournament.
The Cyclones have played against Michigan, Kansas a few times, North Carolina and NCAA Tournament champion Connecticut in the past, but for some reason, Morris and Co., weren't themselves for the first 20 minutes against a team from the Sun Belt Conference.
Iowa State was getting beat on points in the free throw lane. Georgia State had two fast break baskets to the Cyclones' none. Something wasn't right for 20 minutes.
"Sometimes when you don't make open shots, it effects the way you play, and you have to get through that," Hoiberg said. "They got us playing a little slow."
Georgia State threw every zone defense imaginable at the Cyclones, and they'll see something similar Monday night against Alabama in the Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
"Any time you play a team that plays different and unorthodox — they play 40 minutes of zone — I was really nervous," said Hoiberg, whose team had a quick turnaround after beating Oakland last Friday.
That concern disappeared after halftime.
Long made a deep 3-pointer from the corner on the end of a fast break to start a flurry that included 16 Iowa State points in the second half's first 5 minutes. He also made another basket from that distance, then a layup after suckering a defender into thinking he was going to pull up from the perimeter, and he even drew a charge.
It was that kind of half for Long — eight sudden second-half points. It was that kind of second half for his teammates, too, who played with considerably more flair than they did in the game's earlier parts.
"The second half — my biggest message was to play with pace, get the ball to the corner," Hoiberg said. "When we did that, we started to expose them."
Randy Peterson writes for the Des Moines Register.