Isaiah Cousins’ strong second half vaults Sooners past Iowa State

Two of the best players in the nation were on the court competing against each other Saturday evening trying to earn their first Big 12 Conference win of the season, but it wasn’t Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield or Iowa State’s Georges Niang who ended up being the difference maker.

Oklahoma senior guard Isaiah Cousins scored all 15 of his points in the second half leading the third-ranked Sooners to an 87-83 victory over the No. 11 Cyclones.

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The Sooners played from behind for the bulk of the game but Cousins came alive after halftime, giving Oklahoma another scoring option to complement Hield and Ryan Spangler, who combined to score 42. After starting the game 0-for-7, Cousins knocked down five of his next seven shots, including three from behind the arc providing a spark the Sooners needed to claw back on top in the final minutes.

Oklahoma not only remained undefeated but the victory likely will set up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup when the new polls are released and Oklahoma travels to play at Kansas on Monday. Kansas destroyed Baylor on Saturday making a strong case for a No. 1 ranking. It will be only the 10th meeting in the regular season between teams ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, assuming both Kansas and Oklahoma move over Michigan State, which lost to Iowa this week.

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The Sooners endured a scare in the second half when Spangler left the game and went to the locker room after he banged knees setting a screen on Iowa State guard Matt Thomas. Spangler led Oklahoma with 18 points at the time but managed to return a few minutes later and finish the game, produing a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Hield scored 22 for the Sooners but he needed 23 shots to get there, going just 2-for-9 behind the 3-point line.

Iowa State will lament not getting away from Norman, Okla., with a victory after leading much of the game and watching Niang score 29 points. While Niang had a big game, his offense disappeared over a nine-minute stretch in the second half when Oklahoma battled back to take the lead. Niang went scoreless from the 11:51 mark until hitting a jumper with 2:04 showing to pull within two of the Sooners.

Deonte Burton came off the bench to pick up the scoring slack when Niang slowed down. Burton scored 19 in the game and has quickly become one of the better sixth men in the Big 12 after becoming eligible last month and starting to find his comfort level.

These are two of the best offensive teams in the nation and they have split the last four games they have played, with most of the same players who were on the court Saturday playing a part in each of those contests. They will meet again Jan. 18 in Ames and with any luck, we’ll get to see them go at it a third time in March in the Big 12 tournament.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo