AMES – From the Kansas sideline, legendary head coach Bill Self was treated to the best perspective of what every filled seat and television viewer at home was likely thinking.

“It looked like, to me tonight, that the one guy really enjoyed starting,” Self said. “And one guy was really pissed off because he didn’t.”

Speaking with his trademark combination of serious humor, Self begrudged allowing Cyclone star guard Curtis Jones to score a game-high 25 points along with Dishon Jackson scoring 17 points for the Cyclones in No. 2 Iowa State’s 74-57 victory over the ninth-ranked Jayhawks.

Jones was making his second start of the season following a hand/finger injury to usual starter Milan Momcilovic. Jackson was removed from the starting five for the time this season after missing a mandatory film session on Sunday following the Cyclones’ comeback road win at Texas Tech in overtime.

“The standard is high and we expect everybody is going to fulfill that standard,” T.J. Otzelberger said after the victory. “And, at the same time, Dishon, once he made the choice, that decision, at that point it was out of his hands.”

Typically, Iowa State’s sixth man, Jones looks like a front-runner for the Big 12’s sixth man of the year award, but he’s also playing himself into All-Big 12 and potentially conference player of the year consideration as well. He scored a Cyclone career-high 26 points in the win over the Red Raiders and his 20 first half points accounted for half of Iowa State’s total scoring in the first 2o minutes.

Jones became the first Cyclone to score, hitting a floater on the game’s opening possession. It was the start of Jones beginning the game a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor with consecutive 3-pointers that accounted for a mini 8-0 personal run that flipped an 8-7 deficit into a 15-11 Iowa State advantage – a lead the Cyclones never surrendered.

“It was terrific to see him score that first basket,” said Otzelberger, who is the first Iowa State coach to start Big 12 play 5-0. “He gets downhill and makes that play and sees it go through. For Curt, he gets tremendous rhythm, you could see had it rolling.”

The senior, and former junior college and Buffalo product, has drilled at least two 3-pointers in each of Iowa State’s five Big 12 wins this season and he’s scored at least 20 points in four of Iowa State’s five league games. Jones is drilling 46.8 percent of his 3-pointers in Big 12 and in the ‘Clones two biggest conference wins – at Texas Tech and vs. Kansas – he’s a combined 8-of-13.

“Ain’t nothing really going through my head,” Jones said. “I just feel super confident. If you look at the way I’m playing, I feel like I have the right to be.”

His two triples in the final 90 seconds of the first half pushed Iowa State’s lead to 10 at the break and earned the loudest eruption from the sold-out Hilton Coliseum crowd wanting to see the Cyclones defeat Kansas in three consecutive ties where the magic happens for the first time since 1999-2001.

“It’s really surreal,” teammate Joshua Jefferson said of Jones’ first half heater. “Especially with the crowd behind us. It really heightens the ceiling for our team [when he’s making shots].”

Jackson, who transferred to Iowa State via Charlotte in the offseason, had started every game for Iowa State this season over replacement center Brandt Chatfield. Following his disciplinary benching, Jackson proceeded to play his best game with the Cyclones.

The center’s 17 points are the most he’s scored vs. a high-major opponent this season and the most points posted since a 100-58 trouncing vs. Jackson State back in early December after the Cyclones defeated then No. 5 Marquette 81-70 in the team’s first top-10 victory this season.

The ‘Big Dog’ as he is introduced and fondly barked for by Iowa State’s Cyclone Alley student section went 4-9 from the floor but was an impressive 9-11 at the free throw line with four rebounds. Defensively, he was great, helping the Cyclones limit potential All-American center Hunter Dickinson to just six points – just the fourth time in two seasons with Kansas he failed to score at least 10 points.

“He had to respond to it in a positive way,” Otzelberger said of Jackson’s benching. “How did he practice? How did he prepare? What type of energy did he bring into the game? Certainly, thought he gave us a great spark coming in off of the bench.”

Two first half slams allowed him to flex on the star-studded Kansas frontcourt before he likely contributed to the game’s sealing play. After Jefferson missed the second of two free throws, Jackson scampered for a loose ball bouncing toward the baseline as Dickinson watched lazily.

Jackson saved possession for the Cyclones before passing to Keshon Gilbert, who had seven points and eight assists Wednesday night. Gilbert then rifled a pass to backcourt mate Tamin Lipsey, who drilled the game’s dagger. In response, Self called a timeout, turning away from his team in frustration as they returned to the Kansas bench.

“That play was huge,” Jones said. “It put us up nine with four minutes to play, made them call a timeout. Instead of going into that media at six or below, we were in at nine – and that was huge. That’s a hard deficit to come back against us in four minutes.”

A 7-0 Kansas run following Self’s timeout gave the Jayhawk a final hope, but Chatfield slammed down a Jones alley-oop pass in the closing minutes and the sharpshooter buried his fifth triple with less than a minute remaining.

“Those were the two best players in the game,” Self said about Jones and Jackson.

The view from the Kansas sideline was plenty clear to see.