Instant analysis: No. 2 Kansas men's basketball outlasts No. 14 Iowa State

LAWRENCE, Kan. - No. 14 Iowa State suffered its first Big 12 loss of the season Saturday in a 62-60 setback to No. 2 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.

The Cyclones (13-3, 4-1), though, looked very much the part of a legitimate Big 12 contender as they led at various times in the second half against the Jayhawks (16-1, 5-0). Ultimately, Kansas overtook the Cyclones late and held on for the victory.

Gabe Kalscheur’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds to play tied the game at 60, but a KJ Adams bucket with 11.6 left put Kansas back on top.

Caleb Grill’s 3-point attempt on the final possession was off the mark to seal the Jayhawk win.

"(Kansas') defensive intent was really good, especially good on that last possession," said Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger. "A credit to them. They were able to make one more play in a really good game to come out with a victory."

Iowa State got 23 points from Kalscheur while Kansas received 21 from Gradey Dick.

While the Cyclones may not be content with a moral victory, the performance will certainly go a long way to dispelling whatever doubts may be lingering about if Iowa State, picked to finish eighth in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches, has a team capable of competing at the top of the league.

The Cyclones get another top-tier test Tuesday when No. 10 Texas visits Hilton Coliseum. The game will mark the first in Ames for Longhorns point guard Tyrese Hunter since his transfer from Iowa State last spring.

Iowa State doesn’t scare

It was just over a month ago that Otzelberger and the Cyclones were frustrated with how the team shrank from the moment in a difficult road environment when Iowa bulldozed them at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It seems like a lifetime ago.

The Cyclones have since won at Oklahoma and TCU, and have now given the defending national champions everything they could handle in one of the country’s most intimidating venues.

"They didn't take a step back all game," said Kansas coach Bill Self. "Our crowd was unbelievable, but our crowd did not rattle Iowa State."

Moral victories don’t count in the league leaderboard, but the Cyclones should return home more confident than when they arrived in Kansas, even with a loss.

After a 4-0 start to league play, Iowa State basically had all upside on the road against Kansas. A win would have propelled them to a different plane, but a loss is certainly no harm, no foul.

The fact that the Cyclones were a shot away from getting their first victory in Lawrence since 2017 bodes well for the final 13 games on the league schedule.

The final possession

Neither Iowa State nor Kansas got what they wanted on the game's final possession.

The Jayhawks wanted to use their two fouls to give, and the Cyclones wanted to get the ball going toward the bucket.

Both failed, though the Cyclones more consequentially.

With 11.9 seconds left, Iowa State point guard Tamin Lipsey brought the ball up with Kansas' Bobby Pettiford tightly guarding him starting at halfcourt. Grill attempted to set a screen for Lipsey, but the freshman wasn't able to get toward the basket or use a screen being set by center Robert Jones. Lipsey then retreated back and flipped it to Grill, who rose above Pettiford and threw up a shot about 30 feet from the basket.

The off-balance heave clanked off the rim.

"We’re trying to bring it up, play fast and make a read on the ball screen," Otzelberger said. "See if we can’t get downhill. (Kansas) did a good job slowing us up at the point of the screen.

"Caleb pulled behind. Really tough shot. It didn’t fall."

Iowa State was anticipating that Kansas would foul - or at least use the fact Iowa State was not in the bonus to their advantage.

"We know there’s a chance they’re going to play it really aggressively because they're not as worried about a foul in that situation," Otzelberger said. "If they are to foul, then it’s side out of bounds. They’re fortunate to be in that spot to play it as aggressively as they did.

"They did a great job communicating through it and we weren’t able to get downhill like we’d hoped."

Except Kansas didn't do what the plan was.

"The whole deal was to foul twice," Self said.

Ultimately, it still worked out for the Jayhawks, who have defeated Iowa State in seven-straight games.

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or  (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Instant analysis: Cyclones can't hold off Jayhawks