NICEVILLE, Fla. — The No. 4 Iowa State men’s basketball team found itself in a little bit of a bind midway through its Saturday tilt with Illinois. The Cyclones were up just one against a struggling Illinois team and were having trouble finding separation.
Monte Morris and Abdel Nader delivered a wakeup call.
Morris threw a lob pass from just inside halfcourt to a leaping Nader, who corralled the pass and threw down a dunk to complete the eye-opening alley-oop to help spark ISU to an eventual 84-73 victory over Illinois.
“I just play off instinct,” Morris said, “and I think when Abdel had a step on his guy, he just pointed up, and I knew Abdel could make a great play.