EVANSTON, Ill. — Ryan Prather Jr. delivered a blistering performance off the bench with 25 points, leading Iowa State to a 94-59 victory over Northwestern at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Prather shot 7 of 8 from the field, including 6 of 7 from 3-point range, and connected on all five of his free-throw attempts in 24 minutes of action. He also pulled down four rebounds in the win. His explosive shooting sparked a dominant Cyclones bench that outscored Northwestern’s reserves 45-8.
“Coach T.J. has really been
emphasizing coming out, throwing the first punch, not waiting, not relaxing, but just coming out with aggression,” Prather said to Cyclone Radio Network. “When we come out more aggressive, I feel like teams are more likely to kind of take a step back when we throw the first punch, and I feel like we get a lot of momentum from doing that.”
The Cyclones, who finished fifth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency last season, displayed their signature pressure defense early. Iowa State limited Northwestern to just 18 points on 6-of-31 (19%) shooting in the opening half. During one extended stretch in the first period, the Wildcats went 8 minutes and 1 second without a field goal, missing seven consecutive shots as Iowa State mounted a 17-4 run to seize control.
Iowa State built a 45-18 halftime cushion and stretched its advantage to as many as 36 points in the second period.
Tamin Lipsey and Dominykas Pleta added 14 points each for Iowa State, with Lipsey dishing out seven assists and recording three steals. Center Blake Buchanan anchored the interior with 10 rebounds, eight points, and three blocks. Former Northwestern forward Tre Singleton notched 10 points and five rebounds in his return to Evanston after transferring to Ames following his freshman season.
Iowa State shot 52.7% (29 of 55) overall, hit 8 of 16 three-pointers, and owned a 44-31 rebounding advantage. The Cyclones also held distinct edges in points in the paint (38-20) and fast-break points (25-4).
“What’s important is that each day we maximize how we can get better individually and collectively,” Otzelberger said. “So it’s gonna be important that we don’t get focused on scoreboards and outcomes and we keep all our focus on, ‘Let’s control what we can. Let’s get better every single day, and let’s keep moving forward as a team.’”
Jake West paced Northwestern with 21 points on 7-of-16 shooting, including four 3-pointers, while Angelo Ciaravino recorded 13 points and four steals. Jack Karasinski added 11 points. Northwestern—which returned just three players from last year’s roster—found offensive momentum after the break, shooting 48.1% (13 of 27) in the second half.
The matchup was a rare regular-season meeting between the programs, who had never met in Evanston for a regular-season game and had faced off only twice previously (in 1949 and 2009).
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Faces Memphis on Monday in a neutral-site matchup at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
