No. 16 Iowa State holds on to top No. 20 Texas

AMES, Iowa — Monday was all about energy, redemption and a re-awakening of basketball the way Fred Hoiberg demands it played, no matter how close this game that started as a blowout became.

That stuff his guys threw up at Texas Tech Saturday stayed in Texas Tech — most of it, at least.

This was a re-invigorated 16th-ranked team that beat No. 20 Texas 89-86 at Hilton Coliseum, and they didn't need a new starting lineup to accomplish it. They needed to withstand a Texas-sized rally after leading by 21 points with 11:36 to play, but sticking with the program worked.

It worked despite yet another hold-your-breath ending that included the Longhorns scoring 38 points in the game's last 7:53 and 61 points during the final 20 minutes.

"I never expected Texas to lay down and give up," said Georges Niang, who led five Iowa State double-digit scorers with 19 points.

Niang was back to his old self, swishing set-shot 3-pointers and teasing the Longhorns with baby hooks while sneaking inside the zone defense.

"I bumped into some people, and they were killing him," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "Are you kidding me? He's arguably as hard as anybody in this league to defend."

Bryce Dejean-Jones was having fun again after sitting out almost the last eight minutes in Lubbock. In 27 minutes Monday, he scored 18 points.

Naz Long? He shot with so much confidence that he swished a couple first-half 3-pointers from near Pleasant Hill.

Until the frantic end, when everyone knew Barnes' team was too tough to die, these guys were having a ball again — 48 hours after a lot of people were talking about the starting lineup having gone stale.

The Normal Five responded with 18 assists, two turnovers, four blocked shots and two steals.

Change up the starters?

Whatever.

If there's one thing about Hoiberg, it's that he's not an alarmist. Although many called for Jameel McKay to join the first five, possibly as Dejean-Jones' replacement, Hoiberg held.

He was patient. It's the NBA in him, I guess.

He danced around questions about that after Saturday's game down in Lubbock. He did likewise when we chatted less than 24 hours later in Ames. He knew all along his team didn't need a total makeover.

It just needed to make a few early-game shots, like what happened Monday, when they scored baskets on five of their first six possessions.

Until the Longhorns' hyper-driven scoring splurge, his guys were engaged. Fully engaged.

"I was a little discouraged about the slow finish, but you take what you can get at this point," Niang said.

They were having fun again. They were fun to watch. They made the extra pass. The offense included post-player touches and baskets against Texas' first-half zone. All the stuff that they left back in Ames last weekend, they brought to a packed coliseum on Monday.

"When they got the ball moving ... it's a beautiful thing to watch," Hoiberg said.

He summed it up this way: "I've been miserable for 48 damn hours. I'm going to enjoy this one."

Randy Peterson writes for The Des Moines Register, a Gannett affiliate.

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