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Big 12 Basketball '22-'23 (fuck Baylor)


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On 2/21/2023 at 10:42 PM, Rickylovesweed said:

The last 2 games are exactly how Texas should play George. Let him get his (points wise) because he's inefficient. Let him jack 15 to 20 shots a game and turn the ball over. 

Of course the basketball gods had to let the player that's been costing Baylor games get injured down 18-4. 

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7 hours ago, Brian Fantana said:

I'm not sure that should have been a shooting foul. Lots of weird officiating in that game

Nah, that was the right call at the end, especially seeing it in real time from a ref’s eyes. TCU dude was just hugely clutch in that situation. Thought Tech should have had a better play with that much time left, to be honest.

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6 hours ago, PittsburghTiger said:

Iowa State is fucking up the end of this game

 

Iowa State men's basketball can't close against West Virginia, drops fourth straight game

Story by Travis Hines, Des Moines Register • Yesterday 11:48 PM

Quote

AMES – Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger implored his players to play with pride after they suffered a loss Saturday to last-place Oklahoma at Hilton Coliseum. 

Otzelberger certainly got his wish for stretches Monday, but a victory remained elusive.  

The Cyclones came back from 11 down to take a late lead against West Virginia, but could not hold on as the Mountaineers claimed a 72-69 victory at Hilton Coliseum. 

Iowa State (17-11, 8-9 Big 12 Conference) has now lost four straight and six of seven heading into Saturday’s regular-season finale at No. 8 Baylor. 

"It really hurts," senior guard Jaren Holmes said after scoring 16 points. "I’m at kind of a loss for words right now, especially when you’re in that moment and it’s right there. We didn’t make the plays to come out with the victory. 

"We were undisciplined, and those type of things just can’t happen, especially in big moments in key moments."

The Cyclones showed during their comeback plenty of the grit, toughness and resiliency their coach wanted from them and that has been so integral to their success, but it wasn’t enough to erase a bad first half or the continued inability to close out games. 

Iowa State looked as though it may be on track for a second straight double-digit loss at home before a second-half surge saw the Cyclones lead by as many as seven points, but they were unable to hold on to the lead. West Virginia went back ahead for good with just over 2 minutes to play. 

The Mountaineers (17-13, 6-11) used a 9-0 run to go from down four with under 4 minutes to play to up five with 20 seconds remaining to secure the victory. 

"It’s things at that point in the game you lock in and there’s a pride point," Otzelberger said, "and you just say, 'You know what, you’re not scoring a basket. Not on our court. Not tonight. It’s not happening. Not on senior night. You dig deep and you find a way.

"We didn’t do that job. It’s highly disappointing."

Given the circumstances, it likely counts as a moral victory for Iowa State, especially with Gabe Kalscheur and Holmes breaking out of shooting slumps, but that will do little to ease fears of a promising season spiraling into a torrent of losses late in the season. 

Kalscheur was 8 of 16 for 26 points while Holmes was 6 of 16 for 16 points to power the Iowa State offense that has been the main culprit throughout the Cyclones' losing streak.

Erik Stevenson had 23 to lead West Virginia while Joe Toussaint, an Iowa transfer, had 19.

Ultimately, it was yet another in a long list of games the Cyclones either could have or should have won that may come to define the season if they are unable to make a March run comparable to last year’s surprise Sweet 16. 

Iowa State took a step in the right direction Monday, but it remains to be seen if the team can get back on course. 

"We should be disappointed," Otzelberger said. "We do expect more from ourselves. We do have higher standards. They should be disappointed and that disappointment should lead us to working really hard so we don’t feel like that in that locker room again.

"Nobody feels sorry for us. We know the league we play in is really good, and that’s just what it is. We’ve got to be better."

Seeding impact

Iowa State's loss leaves a pretty wide range of outcomes for its seeding at next week's Big 12 tournament in Kansas City. A win would have narrowed the possibilities and kept Iowa State out of first-round games.

The Cyclones could still finish as the fifth-seed, but they could also slump to No. 7, the consequences of each spot are rather significant.

There are a number of complicated permutations to arrive at each outcome, but things should become clearer after the rest of the league completes its midweek slate Wednesday.

Ultimately, if Iowa State falls to No. 7, the Cyclones will have to play in the dreaded Wednesday round in Kansas City with the league's No. 2 seed waiting in the quarterfinals. If Iowa State settles into the six seed, they'll play late Thursday against the No. 3 seed. A No. 5 seed means a Thursday morning game against the No. 4 seed.

Big shooting nights

Kalscheur finally got a big night after shooting 26 percent from the floor in Iowa State's last six games.

"He was feeling it," Holmes said, "and I was loving every moment of it. To see him happy and see him succeed is a very special moment for me."

Kalscheur was limited mostly only by his foul situation as being in basically constant danger limited him to just 24 minutes. He came into the night second in the Big 12 in minutes played during league play.

"He looked like he really had it going," Otzelberger said, "and could have had a really good game if we would have had him out there for a little bit more."

And while Holmes ended up shooting a pedestrian 37.5 percent, he played more aggressively and efficiently than he has of late. He shot 29 percent in Iowa State's previous six games.

"We need those guys to score," Otzelberger said. "We need anybody that we can to make perimeter shots to open up the defense.

"Those guys having a lot of confidence, their teammates looking for them, them seeing it go through, that’s huge for us as we move forward."

Elbow works against Iowa State

Iowa State forward Jaz Kunc was the victim of a hard foul above the shoulders that earned West Virginia's Tre Mitchell an ejection, but the Mountaineers five points.

With 11 minutes, 5 seconds left in the game, Mitchell was called for a Flagrant 2 for his elbow to Kunc, but Kunc and Caleb Grill were both whistled for technical fouls for their response to Mitchell's physicality.

Kunc was awarded two free throws, but missed them both. West Virginia's Joe Toussaint made two free throws granted by the technicals while the Mountaineers maintained possession, which ended with a Seth Wilson 3-pointer.

So in the final tally, West Virginia ended up five points ahead in the whole ordeal despite it starting with their own Flagrant 2 foul.

"It was frustrating, but we need to do a better job not retaliating," Kalscheur said. "In the heat of the moment when one of their players is kind of standing over one of our players, it’s the prideful ting to do to back up our players and try to bark at one of their players.

"In that moment and looking back at it, it wasn’t the smartest thing, but at the same time, I wouldn’t take away that from my teammates because I know they have heart, and the will and the brotherhood of having each other’s back. It’s kind of a weird situation."

Otzelberger would prefer his team keep to itself and simply make the pain of the hard foul worth it on the scoreboard.

"It was really costly when their player throws an elbow at us and it turns into essentially a five-point play for them," he said. "We’ve got to be more disciplined in that situation. Our reaction to that play put us at a deficit. 

"That’s a monster play."

Iowa State's senior night at Hilton Coliseum 

Iowa State honored all eight of its seniors ahead of the game with Kalscheur, Holmes, Osun Osunniyi, Tre King, Grill, Hason Ward, Robert Jones and Jaz Kunc all featured in a pre-recorded video. 

Only half of them, though, have totally exhausted their eligibility. 

King, Grill, Ward and Jones all have one year available to them if they want it due to the blanket waiver afforded players due to the COVID-19 pandemic for the 2020-21 season. 

None of the quartet has said publicly if they plan on utilizing the additional year. 

 

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