KANSAS CITY, Mo. — TJ Otzelberger almost let the Big 12 Tournament trophy slip from his hands before adjusting his grip and lifting it above his head, that polo shirt so many people find so comically tight on the coach of Iowa State stretching just a little. further.
There was nothing fun about the way the Cyclones played Saturday night.
Led by Keshon Gilbert, the tournament's most outstanding player, and a balanced roster in which everyone plays a role, the seventh-ranked team in the country efficiently dismantled No. 1 Houston in the championship game. Gilbert finished with 16 points as the Cyclones cruised to a 69-41 victory, giving them their sixth Big 12 trophy in their sixth appearance in the title game.
The margin was the largest over a No. 1 team since UCLA beat the Cougars by 32 in the 1968 Final Four.
“I give all the credit to our guys,” Otzelberger said after cutting down the nets. “You hear it all the time: You want to play the best you can this time of year. I don't think there's any doubt that's what we're doing.”
Milan Momcilovic scored 18 points and Hason Ward scored 13 for the Cyclones (27-7), who have beaten five different programs to lift the trophy, including Oklahoma, which at the time was led by current Houston coach Kelvin Sampson.
Sampson probably felt even worse Saturday night than he did in 2000. Iowa State used an 18-3 run to turn a 30-23 halftime lead into the kind of blowout Sampson has rarely experienced. And that, in turn, gave thousands of Cyclones fans who paint Kansas City red and yellow every March plenty of reason to stand up and roar in approval.
“Very rarely do you play a road game in a tournament championship, but you know what? Congratulations to Iowa State fans,” Sampson said. “I've known Iowa State fans for a long, long time. It's not the first time I've lost to them in the championship game. But don't lose sight of how good you have to be to get here.”
It also doesn't seem to matter who coaches Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament. Otzelberger became the fourth to take that trophy to Ames, Iowa, and the third to do so in the last 10 completed events.
“You beat a team or program as good as Houston is,” Otzelberger said, “your guys know they've accomplished something.”
Jamal Shead scored 10 points on 3-of-17 shooting for Houston (30-4), which was outscored 39-18 in the second half. LJ Cryer was held to seven points and Emanuel Sharp to five as the Cougars shot 4 of 22 from the 3-point arc and 15 of 56 from the field.
“We'll bounce back. We've had a great year,” Sampson said. “Forty minutes are not going to define three months.”
Iowa State built its halftime lead by playing Houston's role better than Houston.
The Cyclones, with preternatural balance, never faltered when they fell behind early. They showed exquisite ball movement for easy layups as the Cougars' guards attempted to block down the perimeter. And when the Cyclones got those buckets, they freed up Momcilovic and the rest of Iowa State's sharpshooters to start knocking down 3-pointers.
On the other end, the Cyclones forced Shead into off-balance runs and long 3-pointers late in the shot clock; The Big 12 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year went 2 for 11 in the first half and didn't improve in the second.
Cougars big man J'Wan Roberts was also largely ineffective after injuring his right leg and playing sparingly in Texas Tech's semifinal loss. He started the game and played 13 minutes in the first half before missing the second part.
“This game is not as important as his health,” Sampson said.
Roberts probably wouldn't have made any difference the way the cyclones were moving. They scored the first 10 points as part of their run to start the second half, and Momcilovic's 3 from in front of their bench increased their lead to 48-23 with 12:40 left.
Resorting to desperate shots, the Cougars went 9½ minutes without a field goal as the game slipped away from them.
It was a final blowout in a tournament where the average margin was almost 15 points.
“We don't really care what the outside world thinks about us,” Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey said. “That's why we're such a tight-knit group. We just put our heads down and get to work. That's why I don't think there's anyone more deserving than our team to be in this position and celebrate this moment.”
Iowa State will likely take second place in the NCAA tournament and could get a favorable landing spot in Omaha, Nebraska, for the opening weekend. It is only a two and a half hour drive from its campus in Ames.
Houston had almost certainly clinched the top seed for the NCAA tournament. The question now is whether the selection committee would place the Cougars in the same region as Iowa State to set up a potential rematch.
