CINCINNATI (AP) - No. 10 Iowa State forced 25 turnovers and had 12 steals in a smothering 68-59 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday night.
Curtis Jones and Tamin Lipsey each had 15 points to lead the Cyclones (19-5, 8-3 Big 12), who turned the Bearcats' turnovers into 26 points.
Jizzle James had 16 points and Simas Lukosius scored 15 for Cincinnati (15-9, 4-7). Dan Skillings Jr. had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bearcats have lost five of their past seven games.
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Iowa State forced eight turnovers and had three steals in the first six minutes of the game. That helped the Cyclones overcome a scoring drought of nearly four minutes.
Jones, who averaged 14.2 points off the bench in his previous six games, hit a 3-pointer during an 11-2 run to close the first half. Iowa State led 34-26 at halftime.
As the turnovers continued to mount for the Bearcats early in the second half, the Cyclones extended their run to 18-2 on Keshon Gilbert's 3-pointer to make the score 41-26. Gilbert finished with 12 points.
Cincinnati rallied from a 13-point deficit before losing to No. 5 Houston 67-62 on Saturday. The Cyclones' defense prevented a similar scare.
Cincinnati leads the all-time series 4-3. It was the schools' first meeting since 2016.
BIG PICTURE
Iowa State: The Cyclones average nearly 11 steals per game, nearly twice their opponents' average. They average more than 22 points off turnovers.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats need Viktor Lakhin to get back on track. Lakhin, the team's second-leading scorer, went scoreless on Tuesday. He has gone scoreless three times in the last four games and only scored four points at Texas Tech.
UP NEXT
Iowa State: Hosts Texas Tech on Saturday.
Cincinnati: Visits UCF on Saturday.
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