Jan 18, 2020; Lubbock, Texas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Kyler Edwards (0) shoots the ball around Iowa State Cyclones forward Solomon Young (33) in the first half at United Supermarkets Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
If there is a positive point to be taken away from Iowa State’s loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, it is buried away deeper than a pirate’s treasure chest on a deserted island.
The Cyclones turned the ball over 20 times. The Cyclones shot 3-of-22 from 3-point range. The Cyclones lost to the No. 23 Red Raiders 72-52 in front of a sold-out crowd in Lubbock.
Iowa State never led in the contest and trailed for more than 38 minutes. The only relief from Texas Tech’s stifling man-to-man defense, which held the Cyclones to 36 percent shooting from the field, was a six-minute halftime performance from Vanilla Ice.
On a day when every Cyclone struggled, Tyrese Haliburton struggled the least while scoring a team-high 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field, 1-of-5 from deep to go along with two assists and three turnovers. Mike Jacobson was the only other Iowa Stater in double-figures with 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting and four rebounds in 20 minutes while battling foul trouble nearly the entire game.
Texas Tech has solidified itself as one of the toughest programs in college basketball since Chris Beard arrived and turned the program into a player on the national stage. As if Wednesday’s loss to No. 2 Baylor wasn’t enough, this was just another game that proved Iowa State does not come close to standing in that same stratosphere — at least not this season.
The Red Raiders turned the ball over 16 times in their own right. They shot well in stretches, finishing 54 percent from the field and 9-of-21 from deep, but it was not like they played lights out offensively.
Iowa State had chances, most notably getting back within two with 17:28 left in the game. Roughly two minutes later, after a stretch that included a technical foul on Steve Prohm, back-to-back missed free throws, several missed 3-pointers and a pair of turnovers, the Cyclones were down 12 points and never again got back within striking distance.
If we are really digging for a positive, Iowa State’s half-court defense looked a little bit better and the team did corral 15 offensive rebounds. It is hard to really spend much time on those though when the 40 minutes end in a 20-point loss.
Texas Tech made Iowa State look like it was stuck on a deserted island on Saturday, but there was no x marks the spot to be found.
