No. 2 Iowa State plays to its strength in win over No. 9 Kansas

The triumph over the Jayhawks is Iowa State's 12th straight win since an 83-81 setback to then-No. 4 Auburn on Nov. 25.

The Cyclones defense continues to be a problem for opponents. Coming into Wednesday, Iowa State was 17th in the country in opponent turnovers per game (15.7) and 17th in defensive efficiency according to TeamRankings.

The Cyclones forced the Jayhawks into 17 turnovers and held Kansas to 40.7% from the floor and 5-of-16 (31.3%) from long-range. The two leading scorers for Kansas this season, senior center Hunter Dickinson (six points) and senior guard Zeke Mayo (17 points) shot a combined 10-of-29 for the game and committed seven turnovers between the two of them.

Iowa State senior guard Curtis Jones (25 points, 9-of-17 FG) was one of four Cyclones in double figures. Junior guard Tamin Lipsey had 10 points, including this three with 4:15 remaining that extended Iowa State's lead to 61-52.

Although Iowa State's defense continues to shine, its offensive performance against Kansas showed that it can win on both sides of the ball. The Cyclones shot the exact same as Kansas, 40.7%, but went 8-of-13 (61.5%) from deep, which should concern a lot of teams from here on out.

Iowa State (15-1, 5-0 Big 12) returns to the floor on Saturday at West Virginia while Kansas (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) faces rival Kansas State on Saturday looking to find some answers after being held under 60 points in each of its last two games.