Texas Tech men's basketball extended their road struggles in Big 12 play with an 82-74 loss to the No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
With the loss, Tech falls to 2-4 in conference play away from its home court this season.
Both teams traded baskets early in the game, with the Iowa Satellites leading 19-4 with 15:05 left in the first half.
Tech also struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 1-10 from deep in the first half but missing its first seven 3-pointers. According to Tech Athletics, Iowa State's 3-point shooting wasn't great as they shot 2-for-11 from deep in the first half, but the Cyclones were able to generate points from Tech's mistakes. .
In the lead-up to the game, Tech head coach Grant McCasland said ball safety was paramount for the Red Raiders. However, Tech couldn't handle the ball in the first half and committed 10 turnovers, reducing the Cyclones' turnover count by 20 points, according to Tech Athletics.
According to Tech Athletics, Tech finished the game with 16 turnovers, the most in conference play this season.
According to Tech Athletics, Iowa State's transition buckets were part of 44 points in the paint, doubling Tech's 22 points in the paint.
Iowa State led 38-24 at halftime, building its largest lead of the game at 11:23 into the second half, extending its lead to 58-37.
Tech's offense was more effective in the second half, increasing its shooting percentage from 33.3 percent in the first half to 53.1 percent in the final 20 minutes of play. Tech also went 7-18 from beyond the arc in the second half, according to Tech Athletics.
In the second half, the Red Raiders were led by guard Joe Toussaint, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half and helped Tech come back.
Tech was able to cut the deficit to seven points in the final minutes of the game, but it was too late and the Cyclones briefly took over first place in the Big 12 with the win.
Additionally, according to Tech Athletics, Iowa State won 22 games, far ahead of Tech's 21 wins, and regained the lead in the all-time head-to-head series between the two programs.
Tech, now 18-7, returns home looking for a revenge win against Texas Christian University, which they lost to earlier this season, on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
