photo by: AP Photo/Matthew Putney

Iowa State forward Dominykas Pleta (21) and guard Nate Heise (0) work to trap Kansas forward Bryson Tiller (15) under the basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Ames, Iowa.

AMES, Iowa — As pivotal as Iowa State’s 20-2 first-half run might have been in the Cyclones’ win over Kansas on Saturday afternoon, the defense they played before they took the lead — when their offense wasn’t hitting anywhere near as many shots — might have been even more impactful.

“They just pressured the crap out of us,” KU coach Bill Self said.

That has long been a hallmark of ISU teams under T.J. Otzelberger, and the result on this day was as many first-half turnovers — 10 — as field goals for the Jayhawks.

What would become the theme of the game, or at least the first half in which ISU outscored KU 37-27, emerged less than four minutes in, when the Jayhawks still led 4-2 amid a low-scoring start.

KU point guard Melvin Council Jr. got trapped in a double-team by ISU’s Tamin Lipsey and Blake Buchanan, who knocked the ball out of bounds as Lipsey attempted a diving save. Council tossed the ball in to Tre White on the ensuing inbounds pass, and two seconds later, there was Lipsey again, this time joined by White’s defender Milan Momcilovic, pinning White in the corner to force KU to call timeout.

Just over a minute later came another trap: ISU reserve Nate Heise blitzed the post as Bryson Tiller was trying to back down Dominykas Pleta, leading to a steal by Pleta as Tiller looked in vain for a way out. The very next possession down the court for KU, Momcilovic ran over to attack Flory Bidunga as Pleta guarded him and helped force Bidunga to airball a hook shot.

Again, the Jayhawks still led at this point, long before the Cyclones’ offense got out of its rut. But the groundwork was laid for what ISU ended up throwing at KU for much of the top-10 battle at Hilton Coliseum.

“You guys saw what I saw,” Self said. “I mean, they pressured us, and they strung out or trapped us off ball screens and we didn’t handle that well at all.”

It didn’t always work for the Cyclones, of course. After ISU made just its second field goal of the game on a drive by Lipsey, cutting KU’s game-high four-point advantage down to two, Buchanan got called for a foul rushing over to help Killyan Toure defend Tiller on the baseline.

But it bought enough time for ISU to figure things out. By the time Darryn Peterson traveled while surrounded by three Cyclones at 10:06, ISU had made a pair of 3-pointers to go up 14-9.

KU had an answer in the form of three 3s in the span of 2:17 from Council, but that was about all the Jayhawks had in the tank: By the time Council slung a one-armed pass out of bounds looking for Tiller on KU’s last possession of the first half — the inaccuracy a result, of course, of a trap from Toure and Pleta — the Cyclones’ offense had taken control with a double-digit lead.

“It wasn’t difficult, it was just that me personally, myself, was just taking an extra dribble instead of getting the ball out of my hands and feeding to the open man,” Council said. “That was really it.”

Beyond the traps, Council said the Cyclones were simply aggressive defensively throughout the half, taking KU out of its offense. (One example: Lipsey impeded a dribble handoff between Peterson and Tiller early, punching the ball away to set up the putback by Pleta that tied the game at 6-6.)

Self struck a similar tone: “Our ability to move the ball and drive gaps to force help there was pretty weak the entire first half,” he said. “Second half, we actually did a better job with it. But they had so much pressure on the ball, even when guys were open, we didn’t even think about passing it because we were just trying to survive.”

The Jayhawks had been rolling prior to Saturday’s road trip with eight straight wins, a streak during which their offense proceeded fairly smoothly, a 64-61 escape from Texas Tech on Feb. 2 exempted. Now, in a copycat league, they’ll surely see future opponents — maybe as soon as Oklahoma State on Wednesday — attempt to emulate ISU’s performance.

Council was asked postgame if KU would be better prepared the next time it sees traps like the Cyclones’.

“We’re definitely about to get after it on Monday,” he replied, “and you know, we can’t wait.”