After dropping the first road game of the season to a resurgent Oregon State program, the Cyclones bounced back with an (eventually) comfortable win over an outmatched Northern Illinois squad.
Once again, Iowa State got off to a slow start, as they struggled to knock down jump shots, especially from distance. Zion Griffin came off the bench to generate at least a small spark, but the Cyclones still had some tough sledding through the majority of the first half. Poor efforts on the glass and a lack of focus on defense didn’t help the cause, as the Huskies eventually jumped out to an eight point lead with just nine minutes left in the first half.