Will Iowa State Ever Win Again
Kansas City, Mo. –— Someone messaged me during Iowa State's 71-42 loss against Texas Tech on Thursday dark. The cell telephone dinged during the second half of the Cyclones' Large 12 tournament's quarterfinal round. It came when the eventual winner wasn't in doubt.
It looks like someone crawling toward the finish line of a marathon, the annotate read.
Sure, Thursday wasn't the Cyclones' greatest twoscore minutes of brawl, only that's all right. Iowa State yet is in the NCAA Tournament, despite three losses in a row. Information technology'southward solidly in the Big Dance for the start time since 2019, and that, folks, is 1 huge deal.
More:Peterson: The NCAA Tournament awaits Iowa State, despite Thursday's blowout Big 12 loss
Don't forget this program was ii-22 last flavor. Don't forget this program lost all 18 regular-flavor Big 12 games. This plan lost 19 games overall confronting conference opponents.
Regardless of what happened Thursday night at the T-Mobile Middle, Iowa Country men's basketball is a big bargain again, and it's a big deal what awaits next calendar week.
"I'chiliad actually actually proud of the team correct now," Otzelberger said late Thursday. "Last year this same time, our team had two wins. This twelvemonth, nosotros take 20. I think if memory serves me correctly, that'due south probably the biggest turnaround in college basketball, so our guys accept a lot to be proud of. They accept had a very good flavor based on our strengths. There is no business concern.
"There is a sense of pride in what nosotros're building, what nosotros have done, and how these guys have embraced habits. Anybody that would look at it every bit a business would have a warped view on what these guys have accomplished this twelvemonth."
At that place's admittedly no business concern for the over State of the Program. Business concern about the sloppy play at times Th night? Perhaps. Concern going into the NCAA Tournament after 3 losses in a row? I don't know, peradventure.
"Every bit a bespeak guard, leader of the team, I remember it starts with me," Tyrese Hunter said. "Brand sure everybody is positive, because we're not done playing basketball.
"We could turn this around. It's a quick turnaround. Get this behind us, and I'll make sure everybody is positive and brand certain everybody's head is up."
Folks, that's a true freshman proverb those words. He's the team'southward leader and recently its about consequent role player, running the floor bear witness for a team that'due south brought North-C-A-A dorsum to the Iowa Country men'south basketball programme.
"I retrieve everything that they have washed is restore pride to Iowa State," Otzelberger said. "They have showed work ethic, they take showed habits, character, and based on where we were one yr agone — these guys deserve a lot of credit."
So do Otzelberger and the staff. They recruited the players. They worked with them since June, education a defense that usually is the all-time whatsoever Iowa State team has played.
So, back to possible NCAA Tournament ramifications:
More than:Iowa State loses to Texas Tech, goes one-and-washed in the Big 12 Tournament for a tertiary-straight year
The Cyclones are in. For Iowa Country fans, the v p.thousand. Selection Sunday TV show on CBS is required viewing. The team peradventure dropped a seed line after Thursday'southward lopsided loss.
The Cyclones entered Fri at No. 47 on the NCAA'southward NET ratings, a autumn of eight positions. They left the arena with eight Quad-1 wins, but woke up with nine again after Kansas State showed up with a Net ranking of 75.
They woke up Friday to a nine-seed on ESPN'southward bracketology, facing North Carolina in San Diego, where Arizona is the No. 1. CBS predicted a No. 8 seed against Marquette in in Greenville, Southward.C., where Auburn is No. i.
The dreaded 8-9 game? That's OK. They're in the NCAA Tournament, and that's all that matters.
Otzelberger chosen Th's game and "unacceptable try." Simply all is not lost. Shoot improve, protect the ball meliorate, get more out of your best scorer, suffocate an opponent with defense. Do those things and Iowa State is capable of some March Madness.
What really matters is that one-time next calendar week, Iowa State will play its first NCAA Tournament game since 2019. That means a lot. They're in by virtue of the bully start to Otzelberger's Iowa State coaching regime.
A dozen victories in a row, including against Memphis, Creighton, Xavier and Iowa. A victory confronting Texas Tech at Hilton Coliseum. A home win confronting Texas, and a route win at TCU.
"We have to focus on whoever," Jaz Kunc said. "It doesn't thing who we play the side by side game, we take to prepare for them better than we did this game and come out like jitney said — as an assailant, don't permit them to get going, get dorsum in transition, and protect the paint.
"We have to become back to Ames and the practice facility and get ready to play."
In the NCAA Tournament. That's the important thing.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in Dec 2021. Accomplish him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter at @RandyPete.
Source: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/2022/03/11/after-going-2-22-iowa-state-basketball-returns-big-dance-big-12-ncaa-tournament-bracketology-isu/6997309001/
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