Site last updated: Saturday, April 25, 2026

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

No. 1 Sooners suffer upset

AMES, Iowa — Another No. 1 team came to the state of Iowa.

Another No. 1 team left with a loss.

Georges Niang scored 22 points, Monte Morris added 20 and No. 19 Iowa State beat top-ranked Oklahoma 82-77 on Monday night, its first win over a No. 1 team since toppling Wilt Chamberlain’s Kansas Jayhawks in 1957.

Morris had a jumper, a key rebound and two free throws in the final 21 seconds for the Cyclones (14-4, 3-3 Big 12), who were actually slight favorites at home.

It was the third time a No. 1 team lost within Iowa’s borders this season. Northern Iowa beat North Carolina and Iowa beat Michigan State.

“Basketball is alive and well here. Basketball is at an elite level in Iowa,” said Niang, who grew up in Massachusetts.

Oklahoma, which moved to No. 1 earlier Monday for the first time in 26 years, didn’t go down quietly. Isaiah Cousins hit a 3 with 41 seconds left to tie the game at 75.

But Morris drilled a step-back jumper for the lead, and Abdel Nader’s free throws with 3.1 seconds to go put it out of reach.

Buddy Hield scored 27 points and Cousins had a career-high 26 for the Sooners (15-2, 4-2). They could make a case for retaining the top spot with a win Saturday at No. 13 Baylor.

Oklahoma’s two losses came in two of the toughest places to play in the country. The Sooners fell in triple overtime at Kansas in arguably the best game of the season so far.

“We came ready to play. But Iowa State had more fight than us,” Hield said.

Iowa State nearly beat Oklahoma on the road in the Big 12 opener earlier this month. The Cyclones led for 30 minutes, but Morris missed a wide-open 3 with 6 seconds left and the Sooners escaped 87-83.

This one was just as entertaining.

This time, Morris finished off the Sooners.

More in College

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS