For the first time this season, freshman Matt Thomas didn’t start for the Iowa State men’s basketball team.
And for the second time this season – and second consecutive game – the Cyclones lost.
Thomas, an Onalaska, Wis., native, played just 16 minutes as eighth-ranked Iowa State fell at home to No. 15 Kansas 77-70 on Monday. 
Thomas was just 1-for-5 from the field, but did have two rebounds, three blocked shots, a steal and an assist in 16 minutes.
The Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0 Big 12) got 17 points, 19 rebounds from freshman phenom Andrew Wiggins.
Naadir Tharpe and Joel Embiid – another freshman phenom and between him and Wiggins, they could go Nos. 1-2 in the NBA draft next season – combined to go 14-for-17 from the field in scoring 29 points.
It was a 36-36 game at halftime, but Iowa State (14-2, 2-2) shot just 24 percent in the second half. The Cyclones were an abysmal 4-for-25 from beyond the arc and got outrebounded an incredible 56-36.