IOWA CITY − The Cy-Hawk men's basketball rivalry has seen lopsided games in recent years. Thursday's edition was the closest it had been in seven years, making for an exciting and satisfying victory for Iowa State players as they defeated Iowa,

The Cyclones made more plays in crunch time. Iowa State turned around its offensive output after halftime and shot 53% from deep during that span. The Cyclones also hammered the Hawkeyes on the boards in the second half, holding a 29-18 rebounding advantage.

Iowa’s Owen Freeman leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage at 64.4. He has taken a leap in his sophomore season with 16.8 points and seven rebounds per game. Payton Sandfort is also a focal point for the Hawkeyes, though he’s off to a shaky start at 38.6 percent shooting while averaging 2.6 turnovers.