2 Keys That Helped Iowa State Beat Arizona State in Big 12 Tournament

The Iowa State Cyclones dominated in two key areas to defeat the Arizona State Sun Devils in the Big 12 Tournament.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) dunks the ball around Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Luke Bamgboye (9) during the first half in the Big-12 conference men’s basketball showdown on Feb. 28, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming off of an incredible Senior Day performance against the Arizona State Sun Devils, where a mix of emotion, domination, and momentum plays were witnessed a factor in the game, the Iowa State Cyclones came into the Big 12 Tournament on a high.

And after the Sun Devils took down the Baylor Bears in the first round, Iowa State got another chance to meet up with Arizona State for the second time in four days.

And, it went even better the second time. Iowa State won 91-42, one of the most dominant power conference takedowns of the season. So how exactly did the Cyclones beat the brakes off of the Sun Devils?

It all started with T.J. Otzelberger, who did a great job at scouting and adjusting.

Defensive game plan was perfect for Iowa State against Arizona State

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger watches the game from the bench during the second half in the Big-12 conference men’s basketball against Texas Tech on Feb. 28, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the first game, he noticed that Arizona State wasn’t great at handling the ball, and Iowa State used that to their advantage. The Cyclones doubled the ball, forcing tons of steals that led to transition buckets. That gave Iowa State a massive lead early on.

The Cyclones did a great job of using momentum to their advantage. Once they had a lead, they continued to perform off the energy of others. In addition, Milan Momcilovic’s fadeaways, backdoor cuts, and four 3-pointers seemed to be quite the enjoyment for the Cyclone players and fans. The overall momentum swung towards Iowa State all night.

Arizona State’s identity is its main guard, Moe Odum, who does the majority of the offensive production.

After struggling in their first meeting, Odum was essentially silent, which was like unplugging a forest full of lights on Christmas trees: When it gets unplugged, everything stops working. When Odum wasn’t on his game, the Sun Devils couldn’t perform at all.

Blake Runs on Dunkin'#Cyclones | #C5C | @blake_buchanan4 pic.twitter.com/tPLLdJcoon

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 11, 2026

That created a situation where Arizona State had to move everything to the paint and near the basket. Unfortunately for them, Joshua Jefferson and Blake Buchanan were not going to let that happen.

Iowa State’s bigs didn’t let the Sun Devils get near the rim, often forcing them to take tough, off-balanced shots. And offensively, they showed them the same dominance as defensively.

Buchanan and Jefferson combined for 37 points, doing most of their damage in the paint. Whether it was emphatic dunks, layups, or floaters, the Cyclones did it all down low.

It was utter domination from Iowa State, who now roll into the quarterfinals against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, where they hope to continue their momentum into another win over a great team.