Cyclones compete but fall short in Manhattan

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com Publisher

If you didn’t get to watch this game, I’ll warn you that the final score doesn’t accurately represent the closeness of the contest. Iowa State wrapped up its 2010-11 regular season on Saturday in Manhattan, losing to Kansas State by a 67-55 final.

Below are some of my thoughts on the loss. Also, be sure to tune into 1460 KXNO or www.kxno.com tonight at 6:30 (or directly following the Iowa State women’s basketball broadcast) for the CycloneFanatic.com/Wilson Toyota of Ames Postgame Show. Tron Smith and I will be broadcasting live from Es Tas Bar and Grill on Stanton Ave. We’ll break down both Cyclone games today and begin to look ahead to next week’s Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

BOX SCORE: Kansas State 67, Iowa State 55

CF PLAYER OF THE GAME

Diante Garrett – He didn’t get any help. I’ll touch more on that in Three Down. In his final regular season game as a Cyclone, Garrett was the only Iowa State player to crack double figures on Saturday, leading the team with 18 points. Garrett added five assists to his stat line. Nobody else was even in the conversation for this hardware today.

THREE UP

Frank Martin – Let’s give some credit where it is due. Frank Martin has done a hell of a job of coaching this Wildcat team during the second half of the conference season. The preseason Big 12 favorites lost four of their first five league games and bounced back to finish with a 10-6 conference mark. Suspensions, players quitting, legal stuff, etc., have all plagued Frank Martin’s roster this year and somehow, they’ve earned themselves a bye in next week’s Big 12 Tournament. Not bad Frank Martin. Not bad at all.

Overall team confidence – Despite the loss, that looked like an Iowa State team that somewhat had a bit of its swagger back. Shots just weren’t falling on Saturday for the Cyclones. That happens. After two wins, I don’t feel like this team took a step back in this loss.

Godfrey – No, statistically, he didn’t provide an encore to his 23 point, 11 rebound performance from Wednesday night’s win over Colorado. But going on the road to record seven points and seven rebounds, while only taking five field goal attempts was good enough for me. Godfrey’s numbers weren’t big but the freshman went down low and mixed it up with a physical Kansas State team. The Cyclones needed that on Saturday. They needed more of it. Jamie Vanderbeken’s four rebounds in 32 minutes didn’t cut the mustard, as Kansas State outrebounded Iowa State 39-30.

THREE DOWN

Slow start – It took Iowa State nearly four minutes to score its first point in Saturday’s loss. Diante Garrett hit a shot from the elbow with 16:23 to play in the first half to make the score 9-2, in favor of the Wildcats. The Cyclones bounced back nicely to only trail by four at the half but still, when you’re on the road playing the hottest team in the league, slow starts like that can be a killer.

Christopherson/Anderson/Vanderbeken – Can DG get a little help? Anything? Please? Not on Saturday. Garrett was the only Cyclone in double figures as Jake Anderson (4-14), Scott Christopherson (1-12) and Jamie Vanderbeken (3-7) combined to go 8-of-33 from the field. Iowa State was 4-for-23 from 3-point range in the loss.

Free throws – Kansas State went 16-for-22 from the charity stripe. Iowa State was 5-for-10.