No. 19 Iowa State did something Saturday it hasn’t done all season — lose at home.
Its 64-56 loss to surging Oklahoma State put a serious dent in the Cyclones’ hopes of a Big 12 regular-season title and also contributed to an eight-spot drop in this week’s Top 25 poll.
Iowa State (16-8, 7-5 Big 12) tries to pick up the pieces Wednesday night in Ames with a Big 12 home date against No. 22 TCU (17-8, 6-6), a team also looking to right itself after three straight setbacks.
What disturbed Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger so much about Saturday’s game wasn’t just the outcome, but how his team reacted to it.
“We were always worried about what wasn’t going our way offensively,” he said. “Whether it was free throws, shot attempts, fouls — all things we allowed to get to us and prevent us from being the mentally tough team that we’ve come to be. That was out of character for us.”
A lack of offense did Iowa State in against the Cowboys. The Cyclones shot just 35.1 percent from the field, including a combined 5-of-25 effort from the three-guard alignment of Gabe Kalscheur, Jaren Holmes and Caleb Grill.
Iowa State also made only 9 of 19 at the foul line, with Grill going just 1 of 5. Missing 2 of 3 after being fouled on a late 3-pointer may have led to Grill earning his fourth foul with 1:50 left, then his fifth for jawing at Caleb Asberry.
“We were consumed by officiating,” Otzelberger said. “We were consumed by my shot not going in. We were consumed by the game’s not going the way I want. We were consumed by we’re not getting shots. All those things.”
Holmes is the team’s leading scorer at 13.5 points per game, followed by Kalscheur at 12.7.
Meanwhile, TCU missed on a chance to beat then-No. 14 Baylor without two starters, guard Mike Miles and center Eddie Lampkin. The short-handed Horned Frogs led 56-46 with 9:13 left but couldn’t close the deal, falling 72-68.
“We should have gotten it done tonight without two starters, but we didn’t,” said coach Jamie Dixon. “We played hard enough to do it. I’m just disappointed. We’ve got to get it done without them.”
Damion Baugh gave TCU 16 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in a splendid all-around effort. But Baugh badly missed on a pullup jumper from the foul line when the Horned Frogs trailed by two inside the final five seconds.
When Adam Flagler canned two foul shots with 1.6 seconds remaining, the Horned Frogs lost their third straight game.
“It’s not the shot I wanted,” Baugh said of his last attempt. “I wanted to drive it all the way to the lane, but he cut me off and bumped me. I thought it was going to get called, but it didn’t. I’ve got to take a better shot and get downhill.”
Baugh averages 13.2 points and 5.5 assists per game. Miles scores a team-high 18.1 points but has been sidelined for the last six games with a knee injury.
The teams’ all-time series is tied at 14-14. Iowa State earned a 69-67 win last month in Fort Worth.
–Field Level Media