Basketball

Iowa State puts up fight, but can’t avoid latest deflating loss

Feb 27, 2023; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Caleb Grill (2) sits on the training table after the loss against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports

AMES – Iowa State came out strong in the second half in its 72-69 loss to West Virginia Monday night. It had adequate contributions from both Jaren Holmes and Gabe Kalscheur.

The crowd was as involved in the game as it could have been, but the Cyclones couldn’t finish out and avoid slipping to 8-9 in the Big 12 while giving up the lead in the final moments.

“Extremely disappointing, for sure,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said during his postgame press conference. “We take a lot of pride in being a program that’s really disciplined and highly competitive.”

The coach, who saw his team fall for the eighth time in the last 10 games referenced more things than one in what went into the latest loss.

“It’s the unnecessary fouls,” Otzelberger said. “It’s getting back. It’s things that, at that point in the game, where you lock in and you just say, ‘you know what, you’re not scoring a basket. Not on our court. Not tonight. It’s not happening, not on senior night,’ and you dig deep and you find a way. We didn’t do that job and it’s highly disappointing.”

One of the fouls Otzelberger refers to came after a play where Jaz Kunc was elbowed in the face by West Virginia’s Tre Mitchell.

Mitchell was called for a flagrant two and was kicked out of the game, but both Kunc and Caleb Grill were called for dead ball technical fouls during the chaos in the seconds after the elbow landed.

“I think it was really costly when their player throws an elbow at us and it turns into essentially a five-point play for them,” Otzelberger said. “We’ve got to be more disciplined in that situation. Our reaction to that play put us at a deficit. We missed the foul shots, they make a three on the next possession and it’s a monster play.”

After the technical fouls were assessed, Iowa State was outscored 26-17.

“There’s so many things that we should be disappointed in,” Otzelberger said at one point.

But that’s not in the D.N.A. of Otzelberger’s teaching.

Iowa State fought in different aspects of the game, like in the 14-4 run it opened the second half with.

Things like that, the 26-point performance from Kalscheur, the 16-point mark for Holmes, and the 38 percent team stat from the 3-point line were all things trending in the opposite direction for the Cyclones during this stretch.

It felt like the game where Iowa State did its 180. Yet, it has now lost four in a row.

“This one hurts, a lot,” Holmes said. “I just love everybody in the locker room. Bounce back. We have a game Saturday. We have two tournaments to play. We can’t hang our heads.”

Iowa State will begin postseason play next week in Kansas City with the annual Big 12 Tournament.

It will play in the NCAA Tournament – no matter what the guy at the grocery store said about his personal bracketology update.

“They should be disappointed, and that disappointment should lead us to working really hard so we don’t feel like that in that locker room again,” Otzelberger said.

And there’s no doubt that Otzelberger can turn his team in the right direction.

The concern comes with the lack of time.

“Nobody feels sorry for us,” Otzelberger said. We know the league that we play in is really good and that’s just what it is. We’ve got to get better.”

Iowa State squares off with No. 7 Baylor Saturday, in Waco.

@cyclonefanatic