Three takeaways from Iowa State basketball's loss at Arizona

Arizona's defensive effort stifles Iowa State

The Wildcats were eventually able to work their way out of an early-game shooting rut, when both teams were even through the first 13 minutes of the game in a cold-shooting start. Both teams got good looks that wouldn't drop, but they also brought the defensive intensity on both ends of the court to begin the game.

Unfortunately for Iowa State, the Cyclones were held in check the whole way.

Arizona's 7-foot-2 center Motiejus Krivas anchored the paint, but the Wildcats' overall defensive effort and length were problematic for the Cyclones.

Iowa State shot 6-of-18 on layups and dunks.

For the entire game, the Cyclones shot a season-low 29.2% overall. Arizona's length and imposing size forced the Cyclones to take more perimeter shots, and they shot 7-of-30 (23.3%) from beyond the arc.

"We became very dependent on the 3-point shot based off Krivas' length and physicality at the rim," coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "I think we could have attacked a little bit more in the paint, but I'm not as concerned about the numbers. I know that the numbers over time worked themselves out, but obviously, you don't see the ball go through early and then you just probably get a little bit tighter as a group and that was the case here tonight."

Tamin Lipsey shot 6-of-15, but the rest of his teammates shot 13-for-50 (26.0%). Joshua Jefferson was limited to 2-of-17 shooting with four turnovers, while Milan Momcilovic was held to five points on 2-of-8 shooting.

"They're a great defensive team, so obviously they didn't make it easy for us," Lipsey said. "I felt like we had good looks, like coach said, settled a little bit too much from 3. We played physical, calls didn't go our way and I feel like they just beat us out."

Arizona went on a 15-3 run to close the first half and take a 37-25 halftime lead.

The Cyclones cut the deficit down to seven early in the second half, but that would be the closest they would ever get to catching the Wildcats.

Iowa State missed last opportunity to earn marquee Big 12 road win

Arizona secured the outright Big 12 regular-season title.

Iowa State left empty-handed in another high-profile road opportunity.

The Cyclones finish the regular season with a 5-5 road record.

Road games are no easy venture in the Big 12 Conference, but Iowa State finished winless on the road against teams that are in the top 10 of conference standings.

The Cyclones went 0-5 in road trips at Arizona, Kansas, TCU, BYU and Cincinnati. They are the only team in the top six of the Big 12 standings to not record a road win against any of the top 10 teams in the conference.

Overall, Iowa State went 9-5 in neutral and away games this season. The highlights came in an unbeaten run at the Players Era Festival, and a beatdown of then-No. 1 Purdue at Mackey Arena.

The Cyclones' final regular-season game will take place on Saturday, March 7 against Arizona State.

"Look at the game that we played from a defensive and competitive, and physicality standpoint," Otzelberger said. "You know what? You bring that game on most nights against most teams, you're going to find a way to win and so we'll continue to get that work in, but I think it's offensively ― it's the finishing, it's the trust in each other and knocking down those shots, but our compete, our fight and our physicality was in a great place. Now, we got to do those things offensively."

Tamin Lipsey, Jamarion Batemon, offensive rebounding are bright spots for Iowa State

Arizona flexed its talent and defense. The regular-season Big 12 champs played at a level that was worthy of the crown.

In a game where much didn't go right for the Cyclones, there were some positives for the Cyclones.

Tamin Lipsey gave toughness and provided a scoring punch early on, when the Cyclones could hardly find offensive traction. With his team down, he played hard and kept them within reach at certain points, even after rolling his ankle.

Lipsey, along with Jamarion Batemon, led Iowa State in scoring and helped the Cyclones cut the deficit to seven points in the second half. Batemon and Lipsey had back-to-back baskets to make it 44-37, with 13:19 remaining.

Batemon started the game 0-for-5 from deep, but went 4-of-5 from long range for the rest of the game and had 14 points in 27 minutes off the bench.

At a team-wide level, Iowa State forced 15 turnovers, which is the most Arizona had in conference play. The Cyclones converted them into 16 points on the other end.

They also had 15 offensive rebounds, six more than Arizona. Blake Buchanan was a hustler on the offensive glass once again, with six offensive boards.

Iowa State ultimately lost on the glass, though, after leading on the boards in the first 15 minutes of the game. Arizona outrebounded the Cyclones, 40-33.

"I felt like we were very physical defensively," Otzelberger said. "To generate 15 turnovers from them on their court, with their experience, it's great. I thought we did a great job on the offensive glass. To get 15 (offensive rebounds) and have it translate to five points is the disappointing part. When you have 15 of them, you would like to at least have that many points out of them or at least be in the double-figure range, so we left points on the board. Not just from the 3-point line in shooting, but I think finishing at the rim as well. I think both of those things are things our guys work on and we'll continue to work on and we'll be better finishing the basketball."

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Three takeaways from Iowa State basketball's loss at Arizona