Iowa State Basketball Update - Humor and Haar

3/16/2025

The Big 12 Tournament started early Wednesday for the Cyclones against Cincinnati. A relatively smooth and easy 76-56 win over the Bearcats. Iowa State has handled the bottom feeders of the conference this season; oh wait that embarrassing effort at Oklahoma State actually happened I guess. Injuries to Taimin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert remain a concern going forward. Confidence is not high here with this team doing what it did a year ago in winning this tournament.

Iowa State lost to BYU again, twice in a 10 day period. This time the Cougars erased a 4 point halftime deficit for a 4 point win, 96-92. Two excellent games between these teams but its the Cyclones who lose twice to finish at 24-9. The team will likely draw a #4 seed or even a #5 based on how awful they have been in the NCAA Tournament. Starting at 15-1, its a little disappointing. Looking over the schedule I’m not sure there is a win to brag about; Texas Tech on the road, thats it. Beating Kansas not a big deal, St. Bonaventure would’ve given them a game this season. With no optimism whatsoever we are predicting a second round loss in a 4⁄5 game. This way Coach Otzelberger can get back to the weight room faster while pondering how small the shirts will be ordered for 2025-2026.

3/9/2025

Iowa State lost a double overtime thriller Tuesday to BYU 88-85. Tough to make fun of or provide sarcastic remarks on this one. Although through most of the first half the Keystone Cops were giving some material down as much as 13 with dreadful half court possessions. Down by 9 at half scoring just 24 points the Cyclones made up the deficit forcing OT. This was a tough loss, the team's second home loss of the year, no Hilton magic in the end which drops them to 5th in the conference.

The worst loss of the season for Iowa State was a dreadful 80-61 home defeat to Kansas State (in those light purple Crayola uniforms) on February 1st. A 29 game home winning streak ended that day and it also began a mediocre run lasting to this day. Revenge was gained, however, Saturday with a nice 73-57 win over the Wildcats. Both sides made the correct choice this time with the dress code; thankfully. The Cyclones are locked in at the #5 for the Big 12 Tournament starting Wednesday. It is still possible for a #3 in the Big Dance although a #4 is more likely, especially if they lay an egg on Wednesday. Opponent unknown.

3/2/2025

Oklahoma State fans rushed and charged the court Tuesday after their 74-68 victory over lowa State. Thats all fine and good, have never been overly critical or this trend. What I do object to is charging and rushing the court over a win against a mediocre nonsense team. A victory over lowa State at home in the conference at present means as much as the Dodgers winning 2 of 3 in June on the road against the Florida Marlins. The Cyclones entered the week at #9 in the AP poll and continue to struggle and embarrass themselves in the second half of the Big 12 Conference schedule.

Unfortunately the NHL referees missed a critical high sticking call late at the Horse Shoe

Saturday night. Why is this important? Because if the correct call was made, overtime was

inevitable which would delay the start of the lowa State vs Arizona game on ESPN meaning we wouldn't have to watch all 40 minutes of that mess. Nobody, especially yours truly wants to see any additional minutes of Cyclone basketball. Horrible job in Columbus, we only missed the first ten minutes. lowa State won 84-67 getting even with Arizona.

A once promising situation as a serious contender has come crashing down. At 22-7 and 4th in the Big 12 with no quality wins it's safe to say this season is a disappointment

2/23/2025

So the Cyclones extended their modest winning streak to three this past Tuesday 79-65 over Colorado. These past 3 games were against the absolute bottom feeders of the Big 12. Additionally in a rare occurrence before a conference tournament, Iowa State got a third victory over horrendous Colorado to pad this 21-5 record. The Buffaloes were a turnover machine, kicking and throwing the ball all over the placeearly resulting in a 20-5 start to the game. The ‘Clones never trailed and this was over by halftime. Hopefully a fourth meeting occurs with these two “foes” in March. Well maybe not; don’t wanna repeatedly hear the Sanders name during a basketball game.

Houston has been waiting for this rematch since last season's 30 point loss in the Big 12 Championship game. An expected blowout here never happened. Without their two top scorers(Curtis Jones&Keshon Gilbert) Iowa State felt those losses trailing 30-15 in the first half. Again, the dismal offense was on display with one awful possession after the next. In the end this was not a disappointing loss. The Cyclones cut the Cougars lead to 3 several times and even got within 1 at 48-47 with 8 minutes remaining. Houston prevailed 68-59 which will bounce Iowa State out of the top 10.

2/9/2025

The Cyclones losing streak hit 3 this past Monday with a humiliating 69-52 loss to Kansas. This game was done at halftime as the team put up only 19 points at the break and struggled to do that. How did they even score 19?

Well 19 comes up again in the end with a dismal 19 for 62 field goal attempts. Hopefully they are scoring better off the court because this trend from the past two seasons of how not to play offense has returned. A team that peaked in December to mid January may not be taken seriously in our brackets come March.

So Iowa State ended its three game losing streak Saturday with a 30 point home victory over TCU 82-52. Yawn. Not much to be excited about here; they beat an average at best team to stop a skid. Recent awful play has dropped the Cyclones to 4th in the Big 12. UCF and Cincinnati are up next to further cover up their offensive flaws. Maybe a few more vs winless Colorado might help as well. Winning the conference is a pipe dream now especially with a Feb 22 game at Houston lurking.

2/2/2025

An atrocious week for the Cyclones. Two double digit losses that will bounce them out of the top ten and deserve to drop out of the top 25 completely after Saturday's disgrace. We’ll start on the first one of course. As predicted last week, a loss was coming to Arizona and it did. What was not expected from here was a second half comeback forcing overtime. Outscored 15-4 in the OT, a no show there. It's still a double digit loss which dropped the conference record to 7-2 and 17-3 overall.

Where to begin with this mess on Saturday afternoon? The 42 degrees outside was a bad sign. And two things that weren't easy on the eyes; first the white tight short sleeve shirts on the coaching staff for ISU. White shirts are a terrible look on middle aged men, it hides nothing and should have resulted in a technical foul.

Kansas State also deserved a TF for those uniforms. My goodness I guess it was some shade of light purple which was as bad if not worse than anything Oregon football has ever worn.

But in both cases each sideline had a horrendous choice of dress code. An embarrassing 80-61 defeat snapping a 29 game home winning streak. No Hilton magic in this one. They’ve started a new streak which will likely continue at Kansas Monday. The Jayhawks look to pay back a little after getting trounced in the last two meetings with the Cyclones.

1/26/2025

Classes cancelled in Ames!

15 below zero on Tuesday and UCF coming in to endure it. Once again the frigid temperature outside have seemed to affect the visiting opponent inside, The Knights had no chance losing instantly big, as the Cyclones had an easy 108-83 win. It seemed like the cheerleaders were coming off the baseline to convert uncontested layups. Iowa St, improved to 16-2 and 6-1 in conference play. Additionally the Cyclones improved to 11-0 at home with an average margin of victory of 27.8 points in those 11 games.

During the first half at Arizona St there were several thrown objects at the TV. Down 40-33 at half being thoroughly outplayed as 9.5 favorites. They got their act together blowing out the Sun Devils in the second half for a 76-61 win. This could've been disastrous as we feel this Arizona trip will be a predictive split. The Cyclones improve to 17-2 and 7-1 in the Big 12 and tied with Arizona for second place making the contest on Monday a pretty big game.

1/19/2025

Defeating Kansas annually at home has been a nice habit to get used to. The Cyclones

defeated the hated Jayhawks 74 -57 in Ames Wednesday night improving their record to 15-1.

In recent years perhaps the word "hawk" in a name is enough to fire them up whether its

Jayhawks or Hawkeyes. They have pounced on their closest rivals.

Truthfully, this game was definitely a little closer then that 17 point spread indicates. lowa State did lead throughout, never trailed and led by 10 at half. Kansas kept it within single digits even getting the deficit down to 3. But this game didn't get out of hand until the final 5 minutes. Hope the Jayhawks enjoyed their stay.

Coach T.J. Otzelberger's tight short sleeve shirts doing his best former NFL referee Ed Hochuli wasn't enough to scare West Virginia on Saturday evening. The Cyclones lost their first conference game and the nation's longest winning streak also came to an end. The

Mountaineers earned a solid 64-57 victory dropping lowa State to 15-2 and 5-1 in the Big 12. A

brutal reminder of life on the road in this conference. The only concern here is the scoring; an

issue that has kept the team from making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament despite Big 12

Tournament success. Lowest scoring output of the season, even in their only other defeat vs top ranked Auburn the team scored 81 points. lowa State will lose its #2 ranking so we will all have to listen to Duke stuff now. Nauseating.

1/12/2025

The Cyclones won their tenth straight game this past Tuesday night 82-59 over Utah moving their record to 13-1 and 3-0 in Big 12 play. Curtis Jones led the way with 23 points and this was coming off the bench. This game was never close, the lead was 13 at the half and the issue was never in doubt.

Very strange watching this as a conference game, yes Utah is in the Big 12. The loss dropped them to 9-6 and 1-3 in their new conference. Another frigid day in Ames outside and the Utes were as cold inside going scoreless for a 9 minute stretch in the first half.

An overtime thriller Saturday afternoon against Texas Tech. Iowa State trailed by 6 at the half, made up that deficit in the second half and defeated the Red Raiders in OT 85-84. Trap game? Nah definitely not. Road games are always a big challenge in league play. Texas Tech is a nice team.

Wednesday is Kansas. That 3 word sentence is enough to make you puke.

The Cyclones are now 14-1 and will likely move to #2 in the polls with Tennessee losing this past week. Auburn will move to #1 (The only loss for Iowa State this season).

1/5/2025

Iowa State opened their Big 12 Conference schedule this past Monday with a 79-69 victory at Colorado. As expected this was a tighter game than the 28 point blowout at Maui in November. The Cyclones had four players with double digit points with Curtis Jones leading the way pouring in 20. The over/under on this game should’ve been Sanders references during the broadcast. Inevitably the mute button was exercised, nails on a chalkboard. It wasn't terribly surprising to hear about a mediocre college football team during a basketball game.

The Cyclones returned home on Saturday to face #25 Baylor, A wire to wire 74-55 win moves the team to 12-1 and 2-0 in the conference. Could the 5 degree temperature in Ames outside have affected the Bears inside? This game sure felt like a warm weather football team struggling in cold weather. Baylor was never really in this game. Iowa State will most likely remain at #3 in the AP and Coaches polls this coming week. Games this week for the Cyclones include Utah at home Tuesday and at Texas Tech on Saturday.

12/29/2024

The Cyclones were phenomenal this week going undefeated ......against no opponents. No injuries to report as well against these opponents.

Iowa State fans had only one thing to watch this week; a thrilling 42-41 win over Miami in the Pop Tarts Bowl. Pop Tarts Bowl? Yes, cookies and cream mascots throughout the Orlando stadium. Not exactly the Rose Bowl. The uniforms were dreadful; the end zone was decorated in cardinal and yellow, as it should, and the team wore black, just horrendous.

Hopefully the basketball team will not wear this nonsense this season at all and just stick with the traditional colors. The team spent the holidays in Ames and will start the conference schedule on Monday, December 30.

At 10-1 the Cyclones remained #3 in the AP and Coaches Poll. The Big 12 Conference schedule starts for Iowa State against Colorado, a team they have already defeated convincingly 99-71 in a non-conference game in Maui. This contest should be tougher, the Buffaloes are 9-2 and have the game at home. Both losses for Colorado were at the Maui Invitational (Iowa State and Michigan State). I like the fact that a conference opener for the Cyclones will happen on the road in late December rather than at Hilton Coliseum. Students are on break, nobody is there. Additionally, establishing a road win would be a nice start to hopefully gain a reputation of being a tough road team which is critical in the Big 12.

12/23/2024

As luck would have it, I found myself in Atlantic City, NJ during another Sunday afternoon

snooze fest of lowa State opponents at Hilton Coliseum. Jackson State, Omaha, and Morgan

State...please no more!!

For my entertainment, I wandered into the Sports Book at Hard Rock Cafe. The Cyclones were 42.5 point favorites, that seems nuts. The 20 dollar money line would win .09 cents. The cashiers were just laughing that someone would plunk down 20 dollars for a ticket that paid 20.09. The final was 99-72 over Morgan State. Hopefully this is the end of

Sunday lemons, and it will be with the Big 12 schedule starting on December 30.

lowa State begins the league season next Monday at Colorado. The Cyclones have already

defeated the Buffaloes in a non-league game during the Maui Invitational on November 27: 99

to 71. The team remains ranked #3 in the country with an 11-1 record. Thus far they have

seemed to improve greatly in the scoring department which has hurt them the past 2 seasons.

The Cyclones have scored over 80 points in all 12 games this season including 2 games with 99 and anotner with an even 100

12/15/2024

Little Brother! Little Brother! Mom always said don’t play ball in the house. Iowa St defeated their petite sibling from the Big 10 for the third time in four years Thursday night 89-80. It is truly a Cyclone state. The Cy-Hawk trophy goes to ISU, and not even Caitlin Clark could've helped the Hawkeyes.

The non conference wins now are : Iowa, Marquette, and Dayton, as well as, in-conference Colorado. You’d like to have the Auburn game, but they blew a huge halftime lead. The Cyclones will most likely stay at #3 in the polls, Again a team with major difficulty to score points has done so in the first ten games.

This Sunday waste of time has hopefully ended today with the conference schedule starting. Another waste of time, in the way of football games. Iowa St defeated Omaha 83-51 to go to 9-1. OH WAIT: next Sunday afternoon Morgan State comes to Ames.......for another Sunday joke. The Committee hates the Cyclones, so this must be tough for them so far.

Only one game this week Morgan state, and then Colorado again in conference on Dec. 30.

12/8/2024

The Cyclones entered the week ranked # 6, down 1 spot from the previous week. Ironically they immediately faced off against the team who replaced them at #5; Marquette. Wednesday night at Hilton Coliseum lowa State led wire to wire against the Golden Eagles in an 81-70 victory. Keshon Gilbert led the attack for the Cyclones with 24 points and 7 assists.

Jackson State came Hilton Coliseum Sunday boasting an 0-9 mark. In less then two hours they would leave 0-10 in an absolute waste of time. The final was 100-58, should be a fun trip back to Mississippi.

Two victories this week doesn't take the sting away from an embarrassing effort from the lowa

State football team in the Big 12 championship game. Maybe the game will,.., this Thursday the annual Cy-Hawk vs lowa takes place in lowa City. Last season in Ames, the Cyclones blew out the Hawkeyes 90-65. lowa State returns home to play Omaha on Sunday.

11/30/2024

The Cyclones return from Maui winning 2 of 3 games with a current record of 5-1. Of

course the signature game for the team in Hawaii was a contest with #4 Auburn.

Unfortunately for the cyclones they squandered a 16 point halftime lead to lose 83-81.

Bounce back wins against Dayton and Colorado followed. Offensive output totals are

encouraging thus far for the team, Despite great success the last 2 seasons, scoring

has been an issue. lowa State averaged 90 points in the 3 games in Maui. Up next #10 Marquette on Wednesday at Hilton Coliseum.

Scrolling the tv guide looking for the Maui Invitational, I noticed another holiday

tournament with the description: 7th place game. Well I immediately thought of Meet the

Fockers from 2004. Jack wanders into Greg's room and finds a 9th place ribbon

displayed on the "Wall of Gaylord®". Jack of course can't help but make a sarcastic dig:"I

didn"t know they made 9th place ribbons?" Well I didn't know they had 7th place games

in holiday tournaments. The mere description on the tv guide ruined any interest.