Iowa State is reaching lofty heights this season, and a brief stumble has not detoured the eighth-ranked Cyclones from continuing to set program records.
Iowa State (19-2, 6-2 Big 12) has its best record through 21 games in school history and will put it on the line against Kansas State on Sunday in Manhattan, Kan.
After reaching 16-0, for the best start in program history, Iowa State ran into a rough patch with back-to-back road losses in mid-January against Kansas and Cincinnati.
A few lumps are to be expected in a conference like the Big 12. What wasn’t known was how the Cyclones would respond.
The answer was three straight wins, including two by 30-point margins. The most recent of those, Thursday against Colorado, featured a 30-1 run and ended with a 97-67 final score. Freshman Jamarion Batemon poured in 17 points, the second most of his young career.
“His pride and how much he wants to play well and play for our program and team is great,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said, crediting the entire bench for a strong performance. “In some respects (when the bench was playing), we got better.”
Batemon’s emergence is a tremendous bonus for the Cyclones, who generally rely on Milan Momcilovic (18.6 points per game), Joshua Jefferson (17.2) and Tamin Lipsey (13.2) for their scoring. The team’s scoring defense (65.0 points), its true calling card, is ranked 15th in the nation.
“We’ve gone back to being a hunter instead of being something other than that,” Otzelberger said. “I think that’s when we’re at our best. Our practice habits have been carrying over into the games.”
Complacency might be the Cyclones’ biggest enemy against the Wildcats (10-11, 1-7), who do not bear the look of a team capable of springing the upset.
Jerome Tang’s bunch has been installed as a double-digit underdog and with good reason, after the Wildcats lost seven of their last eight contests. The team’s most recent loss, 59-54 at West Virginia, dropped Kansas State below .500 for the first time this season.
“They out-toughed us down the stretch,” Tang acknowledged.
That loss came on the heels of an embarrassing 86-62 home blowout at the hands of rival Kansas.
A depleted roster isn’t helping matters. Three starters — Abdi Bashir Jr., Khamari McGriff and Elias Rapieque — have missed the last three games. Key reserve Mobi Ikegwuruka (personal) has been missing in action the past six, and though P.J. Haggerty continues to rank fifth in the nation in scoring (23.0), his performance late in games has been a source of frustration.
“I have trust in all my players down the stretch. You just want to make the right play and play the right way,” Tang said. “Sometimes it’s the shot for (Haggerty), and sometimes it’s making the play and getting the ball to somebody else, and you just want him to make the right play.”
–Field Level Media
