Iowa State Cyclones guard Jackson Paveletzke (1) passes the ball around West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jesse Edwards (7) and guard Kobe Johnson (2)during the second half in the Big-12 conference showdown of an NCAA college basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 24, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — Jackson Paveletzke knows the look. It’s rooted in condescension, a lack of respect. He’s seen it flash in the eyes of opposing players his entire life — a dismissive glance that fuels his competitive fire.
“(That’s) always been there for me, kind of being undersized,” Iowa State’s sophomore spark plug guard said earlier this season. “I’ve got to be able to play with that (mentality). Otherwise, there (are) guys that are gonna be more athletic, more strong than me all the time, so just playing with that chip, I need it.”
Paveletzke’s role for the No. 8 Cyclones (21-6, 11-4 Big 12) keeps expanding as his team prepares to take on Oklahoma (19-8, 7-7) in Wednesday’s 7 p.m. Big 12 game at Hilton Coliseum. He notched conference season highs in minutes (16) and points (9) in ISU’s most recent win over West Virginia and his chip-on-his-shoulder approach to the game is shared by most of his teammates.
Take senior forward Tre King. He languished on the bench as a sit-out transfer in Cyclone head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s first season and didn’t make his ISU debut until winter break last season.
“My road here hasn’t been easy,” King said. “Definitely hasn’t been sunshine and rainbows and all that stuff. But just knowing that I have guys here with me who have gone through some of the same things is encouraging. It’s something that we’ve all bonded over, but I also think it plays a part in how we play. We all play with that edge and that chip on our shoulder. With that, I think that we all play like nothing is guaranteed. Nothing is given to us. I think that’s one thing that we really take pride in.”
Especially on defense, where the Cyclones have ranked among KenPom’s top 10 throughout Otzelberger’s nearly three-season tenure. ISU’s currently slotted third in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency and checks in at second nationally in defensive turnover percentage.
“We expect to defend with intensity for 40 minutes — that’s what we demand in practice and when we do that, we play our best,” said Otzelberger, whose team has won eight of its last 10 games and is one game behind No. 1 Houston in the league standings. “And I still feel like our team hasn’t played our best game yet. We’ve had some good games. We’ve had some good moments. We’ve had some things we’ve done well. We’ve also had our share of challenges, but I still think we can play our best and to do that, it’s gonna be setting the tone with our defense, and our defense turning into offense.”
ISU struggled to produce that desired formula in the previous meeting with the Sooners, which they lost, 71-63, on the road. And Oklahoma likely needs to churn up another win or two to fully seal an NCAA Tournament berth, so the Cyclones should expect the Sooners’ best shot.
“There’s a lot of different challenges at this point of the year,” said ISU sophomore guard Tamin Lipsey, who leads the Big 12 in steals with 2.8 per game. “And (there’s also) excitement looking forward to the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, so it’s really just keeping your focus on one game at a time and that’s really what we’re trying to do.”
Cliche or not, that’s all anyone can do, but ISU will continue to follow that time-tested plan while playing with an edge that’s borne from being counted out in the past and underestimated in the present.
“When you have the added motivation of knowing that people passed up on you, or people doubted you and now you’re in a place where they believe in you, they care about you, they have your back and you’re developing, it should allow guys to play with a tremendous sense of confidence,” Otzelberger said. “And that’s what we really want to do here.”
