That one will be tough to explain to the NCAA Tournament selection committee…
There are road losses within the league that are forgivable – and then there’s that…
Texas Tech’s less than intimidating crowd lulled Iowa State to sleep early on Wednesday night in Lubbock and the Cyclones never woke up. The result? Instead of beginning Big 12 play with an impressive 4-1 mark, the Cyclones will enter Saturday’s home tilt against Kansas State with an awful taste in their mouths after being stunned by the Red Raiders via a 56-51 final.
The Cyclones struggled all around offensively in this one. Iowa State went 6-of-23 from 3-point range and was out-rebounded 38-29.
Five Cyclones entered this game averaging double figures in scoring. Only Will Clyburn (12) and Korie Lucious (11) cracked double digits in this one. Iowa State ended the evening shooting 36 percent from the field.
Melvin Ejim and Georges Niang both fouled out in the contest.
CLICK HERE to see the game’s final box score.
The bottom line…
The loss was a season-changer but it’s way too early to call it a season-ender for the Cyclones.
If you watched much college basketball on Wednesday night, you saw upsets galore across the country.
The lesson here: Anybody can beat anybody on any given night.
Iowa State isn’t alone here however, losses like this sting badly in March. It might take a couple of road wins later on in league play to make up for this one. We’ll see. There is a lot of basketball still to be played.
Stay tuned to Cyclone Fanatic on Thursday for more reaction to this loss as well as a look-ahead to Kansas State.
It will also be the hot topic for Thursday night’s Cyclone Fanatic/Wilson Toyota Radio Show heard from 7-8 on 1460 KXNO – live from BenchWarmers Sports Bar in Ankney.
