Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.

Daily Headlines

Inserted into the starting lineup, Curtis Jones scores 25 as #2 Iowa State handles #9 Kansas

Iowa State has become one of the few teams separating themselves as the best in sport over the course of the first two months of the season. While coming off the bench, Curtis Jones has proved himself as maybe the best player on the Cyclones roster. Jones scored a season-high 26 points against Texas Tech on Saturday, backing it up with a 25-point performance last night against Kansas.

At the glorious Hilton Coliseum in Ames last night, Jones started early, scoring in the game’s first 20 seconds and then scoring three buckets in four possessions surrounding the under-12 media timeout. After Jones’ 8-2 run gave Iowa State a 15-11 lead, the Cyclones would be in the driver seat for good, taking a 10-point lead into halftime after another pair of back-to-back threes from Jones to end the half.

20 of Jones’ 25 points came in the first half, but he was sure to cap off the night in style, hitting a logo three-pointer with 42 seconds left to send the Jayhawks on their way. The Hilton crowd loved that one maybe has much as any of the other shots that night, just before a late Joshua Jefferson free throw finished the game with a score of 74-57.

The offensive struggles for Kansas have continued, with the Jayhawks failing to reach 60 for the second consecutive game and Zeke Mayo (17 points) being the only player to score in double figures. I’ve been low on Kansas, but that’s not to say I’m not impressed with what this Iowa State team has done.

The Cyclones now hold the nation’s longest winning streak at 12 wins, winning every game since the first-round loss in Maui to the top-ranked Auburn Tigers. Jones has been great all year for Iowa State, but now that he has reached another level, this Iowa State team looks to be the cream of the crop in the Big 12. Jones is now up to 17.8 ppg this season, starting just two of the 16 games for Iowa State thus far.

With Milan Momcilovic out injured, Jones should continue to start for TJ Otzelberger. Otzelberger gave Jones the choice before the game yesterday, and I’m guessing he’s more than happy with his player’s decision after the performance last night. The biggest concern for Iowa State was getting bench production with Jones in the starting five, but Dishon Jackson came up big with 17 points in 20 minutes and Nate Heise and Demarion Watson had positive cameos throughout against Kansas.

Curtis Jones, Keshon Gilbert (15.5 ppg, 4.9 apg), and Tamin Lipsey (10.4 ppg, 2.4 spg) were widely considered one of the best backcourts in the country going into this season and throughout the first few months, but after this recent stretch of play, I think it’d be disrespectful to tell the Cyclones’ trio they aren’t the top set of guards across the country. And the one that usually comes off the bench – Curtis Jones – may be the best of the three and one of the top handful of off-ball guards in the country.

Other Things to Note:

• Zakai Zeigler leads #6 Tennessee to 74-56 home win over #23 Georgia
• #12 Michigan State holds off Penn State 90-85 at the Breslin Center
• #22 Utah State upset 62-65 on the road by UNLV
• #20 Michigan visits Minnesota looking to win sixth straight (7:00 ET, FS1)
• #16 Gonzaga faces first big WCC test on the road against Oregon State (11:00 ET, CBSSN)