Iowa State Wins in Triple Overtime, Syracuse Grabs Another Win

In a Monday night game expected to be a thriller, No. 16 Iowa State (17-5, 5-4) vs No. 19 Oklahoma State (16-6, 4-5) did not disappoint with its three overtimes. The Cyclones persevered 98-97 for its first win in Stillwater since 1988.

DeAndre Kane led Iowa State in scoring with his 26 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. He was vital to the game with one if its biggest plays of the night.

DeAndre Kane

As the second overtime ended with a three-point Iowa State deficit, Matt Thomas missed a 3-pointer, but Kane got the rebound. Rather than try another three, he gave the ball to Naz Long, who successfully hit one and tied the game. This came as Long had previously been 0-9 for threes.

The Cyclones also succeeded in OT without Georges Niang, who sat on the bench thanks to his five fouls.

Monday’s win was a big one as Iowa State had lost four of five games including three straight ones at the end of January but February appears to be a good month. The team has two straight conference wins and is above .500 for Big 12 play. It is also past its most competitive part of the schedule and will look ahead to these matchps: TCU twice, West Virginia twice, Texas Tech and Texas.

Iowa State is 28/1 to win the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Its next game is Saturday against TCU (9-11, 0-8).

As for Oklahoma State, Le’Bryan Nash led in scoring with 26 points, Marcus Smart added 20 with eight assists and Markel Browna contributed 19 points and 10 rebounds. The team played without Stevie Clark, who got arrested for a second time over the weekend and has been kicked off the team. Oklahoma State has now lost three straight games and questions are rising about its offense and shot selection.

Cowboys coach Travis Ford said after Monday’s game via the Associated Press, “We had our chances. We didn’t rebound the basketball at crucial times. Obviously, Iowa State made big shots and had big rebounds. We didn’t rebound when it counted.”

On Saturday, Oklahoma State seek to end its skid against Texas Tech (11-11, 3-6).

In other Monday action, No. 1 Syracuse (22-0, 9-0), with its new top ranking, kept its win streak alive by defeating Notre Dame (12-11, 3-7) 61-55. Trevor Cooney showed up for the Orange with his 33 points (a career high) and tied a school record from his nine 3-pointers. Teammate C.J. Fair, who had a career-night on Saturday against Duke with 28 points, was MIA on Monday with six points–his worst game for the season.

On Sunday, Syracuse will host Clemson (14-6, 5-3). It sits at 7/1 to win the Big Dance.

Also in the win column on Monday was No. 6 Villanova (20-2, 8-1), who defeated Xavier (15-7, 5-4), 81-58. The Wildcats James Bell had a big night with his 27 points (6 3’s and 10 of 14 overall) and eight rebounds. For the night, Villanova shot 49 percent from the field and 25 assists on 32 field goals, according to the Associated Press.

Villanova is now tied with Creighton (18-3, 8-1) for the top Big East spot. Next up for the Wildcats is Friday’s game against Seton Hall (13-9, 4-5). Villanova is 25/1 to win the 2014 NCAA Men’s Championship.

Tuesday’s Top 25 Games

Roy Marble

It’s a full slate of games for Tuesday and one of the more interesting ones is No. 17 Iowa (17-5, 6-3) vs. Ohio State (17-5, 4-5). This is their second meeting with Iowa taking the first win back on Jan. 12, 84-74. At the time, Ohio State was ranked No. 3.

The Buckeyes are coming off a 59-58 win over Wisconsin as both desperately want Tuesday’s win. Can Iowa show it really is a conference contender? Can Ohio State turn its season around?

The Hawkeyes get the win (-6).

Missouri at No.3 Florida (-12, 131 o/u)
No. 8 Kansas (-4, 142.5 o/u) at Baylor
Wake Forest at No. 11 Duke (-18, 148 o/u)
No. 15 Texas (-8) at TCU
Ole Miss at No. 18 Kentucky (-13, 150 o/u)
Rutgers at No. 24 Memphis (-15.5, 150.5 o/u)