Iowa State Struggles in Second Half, Cyclones Lose 61-59

Jan 22, 2023 - 12:35 AM

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In what felt like a trap game coming into today, it turned out to be just that. Sandwiched in between an emotional Texas game, and a shot at the top of the Big 12, Iowa State had to first head to Stillwater. There’s no such thing as a bad loss in the Big 12, but this was without a doubt a winnable game that slipped away late.

Iowa State played a very solid first half. They led at halftime by 10, and only gave up 25 points in the first 20 minutes. The Oklahoma State offense is admittedly suspect but it’s a lot better when Avery Anderson is hitting shots. Coming in to today, Anderson was 0-16 from three-point range in Big 12 play, after today, he’s 2-19. Which is still terrible, but 2-3 is six points and 66% shooting on the day, which ain’t bad.

Anderson, as some of you will remember, dropped 34 points the last time the Clones played in Stillwater, He didn’t play that well today but still good enough to lead all scorers with 18 points.

On the other side, Caleb Grill didn’t play in the second half and was seen with a back brace on. In the 17 minutes he did play, he scored zero points. Without Grill’s scoring and spacing, the offense turned stagnant pretty quickly in the second half.

This is a PSA, Iowa State will almost always shoot less free throws than the opposing team. We play ultra-physical on defense, and our offense focuses on getting open efficient, and ideally, uncontested shots. Were there bad calls in this game? Sure, but I don’t think that had much to do with the outcome.

If one of our leading scorers, scores more than 0 points, I like our chances.

There’s no breaks in the Big 12 season. After a win today, Kansas State comes is all alone at the top of the Big 12 standings. Hilton should be just as crazy as it was 7 days prior.

Farmageddon basketball tips off at 8pm on ESPN U this Tuesday.