KANSAS 82, IOWA STATE 67

Game Over

Craig Brackins did everything he could, but Kansas simply had too much firepower Saturday afternoon.

KANSAS 66, IOWA STATE 55

7:42 left in the second half

Iowa State still has plenty of fight left, but if the Cyclones don't start hitting some threes it won't matter how much spirit they've got.

Photo Gallery

Kansas Basketball vs. Iowa State

A photo gallery of Kansas' 82-67 win over the Iowa State Cyclones Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.

McDermott's team won't stay down, but they're not completely getting up off the canvas. This one may end in a TKO if Kansas keeps hitting 50 percent of its shots and keeps Iowa State a couple of arm's lengths away.

KANSAS 56, IOWA STATE 44

15:34 left in the second half

I'm not sure what was bothering Cole Aldrich in the first half, but at least he seems to playing with more confidence now.

He was non-existent in the first half and it is the second game in a row in which he's looked out of place. In the second half he's got one basket and a block and he just looks more natural out there. Not sure why it took so long, but now Kansas should be able to grind out some possessions by feeding Aldrich under the basket.

KANSAS 44, IOWA STATE 38

Halftime

The halftime speeches will likely focus on two players, and the conversation in each locker room will go something like, "How in the hell do we stop Craig Brackins/Sherron Collins?"

Brackins has 22 points and eight rebounds while Collins actually cooled off in the last four minutes to finish with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Brady Morningstar's buzzer-beater gave Kansas the momentum heading into the half, but it won't mean much once the teams come back to the court. The Cyclones weren't great from beyond the arc — 4-of-12 — but otherwise they played just as well as the Jays in every facet of the game.

As long as Sherron Collins doesn't bury Iowa State in the first four minutes of the second half, then we should see an exciting finish.

KANSAS 36, IOWA STATE 29

2:45 left in the first half

The Jayhawks are highly efficient behind the three-point line. While Iowa State has chucked up 10 treys and hit only three, Kansas is 5-for-6 behind the line.

The last of those was a Brady Morningstar shot from deep that let the air out of the Coliseum. Iowa State fans have erupted after several big plays, but every time the Cyclones actually get close to obtaining the lead the Jayhawks silence the crowd with a big shot of their own.

KANSAS 27, IOWA STATE 19

7:49 left in the first half

Sherron Collins is the best player on the court, and he's letting everybody in Hilton Coliseum know it.

Collins already has 18 points and he's done it with sick cross-overs and beautiful jump shots. ISU's Craig Brackins has looked pretty good, but Collins is making him look rather ordinary.

Thanks to Collins Kansas weathered Iowa State's first run and actually emerged in as good of position as before it. That's a huge first step for this team, just seeing that they can handle a team's best shot on its own court. The Cyclones will throw at least a couple more hay-makers, so it's on the Jayhawks to build a comfortable lead now to help ease through those scoring runs from Iowa State.

KANSAS 23, IOWA STATE 19

9:36 left in the first half

I wondered why Craig Brackins wasn't taking more shots early in the game. Apparently coach Greg McDermott thought the same thing because Iowa State fed the ball to its best player after the first media timeout and he responded with nine quick points.

The Cyclones live beyond the three-point line and I said they would need at least 10 threes and probably more like 12 if they wanted to stay in this game. They've made three treys in the early going and it's pumped up the crowd, but Collins and Tyrel Reed suppressed the excitement with a couple of threes in response.

Iowa State is out-hustling Kansas right now, which is great to see. It has been an exciting start and if the pace keeps up then it should be the most enjoyable second half I've seen since Tennessee came to the Fieldhouse.

KANSAS 12, IOWA STATE 3

15:39 left in the first half

Iowa State doesn't mind giving Sherron Collins space on the perimeter, and Collins doesn't mind drilling three-pointers. He's done it twice already and the Cyclones had better shore up their perimeter defense or risk watching Collins go off for a career game.

Offensively the Cyclones have a lot of potential with Marcus Morris guarding Craig Brackins. Brackins will win most one-on-one match-ups today, so it's a bit surprising that Iowa State has looked his way more often.

12:55 p.m.

Prediction time.

Since there were more Kansas fans than Colorado fans in Boulder, this is Kansas' first true road game in the Big 12. As a result, we could see some shaky performances from some of these younger Jays. They were rattled in Arizona and Michigan, so an equally hostile crowd in Ames could make an impact on the game.

Kansas doesn't have a great record in Hilton, and that seems to be where the term Hilton Magic comes from. Even when Iowa State is overmatched at home — which is often — it finds a way to pull out upset victories. For that reason I wouldn't be shocked if this game is close, but don't expect the Cyclones to pull any rabbits out of their hat.

In another ugly game, I expect Kansas to win 76-68. As usual, the Jays will rely on Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, who will each score 20 points today.

12:30 p.m.

I make fun of Iowa State and "Hilton Magic" plenty, but I will admit that Hilton Coliseum is a pretty great place to watch a basketball game. For starters it's a massive building, and while it doesn't look great from the outside, it's really sweet inside.

Also, the student section is above average for this chronically below average team. They're passionate and they get loud.

Hilton doesn't have the same feeling of history or awesometude (sure it's a word) as Allen Fieldhouse. But for being stuck in the agriculture village of Ames, Hilton does have a little bit of magic.

12 p.m.

Sitting in the Iowa State media room, my face has just started to de-thaw from the vicious Iowa winds swirling outside. The funny thing is that the 1 degree weather last night was like heaven compared to the -30 degree temperatures in Iowa last week.

As we prepare for today's game, the photos which decorate the media room take us back to a better time in Iowa State basketball. The one looking over me is a picture of Marcus Fizer and the Cyclones accepting the Big 12 tournament championship trophy in 2001. Everyone in the photo seems scared, except for Fizer, who is looking straight into the camera with hate and vengeance in his eyes.

Not too sure why Fizer was so pissed. Perhaps he knew this was the last time he could be relevant to anyone before tossing himself into the depths of tedious trivia.

Either way, I find it amusing that most of the photos are of the Iowa State women's basketball team celebrating this or that. Fizer's mug is one of only two men's shots in the room.

That just sort of reflects the non-existent history of Cyclone hoops. They had some glory years in the 1990s, but before that and since then Ames is an after-after thought in the world of Big 12 basketball. Coach Greg McDermott would like to change that starting today, but protecting his home court won't exactly be easy.