Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) and Oklahoma Sooners guard Le Tre Darthard (0) battle for a loose ball during the second half in the Big-12 conference showdown at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
AMES — He tried to drive and finish, but the shots wouldn’t fall. He squared up from 3-point range to no avail. Just about everything Iowa State point guard Tamin Lipsey tried to do from an offensive standpoint in Wednesday’s grinding 58-45 win over Oklahoma proved to be an exercise in futility.
But none of that affected his defensive intensity. Lipsey snared two critical steals while shooting 2-for-13 from the field — and his ability to help his team navigate the season’s highs and lows is a big reason why the No. 8 Cyclones (22-6, 11-4 Big 12) sit one game behind top-ranked Houston in the conference standings.
“Obviously, there are ups and downs in the season,” said Lipsey, who hopes to help ISU get its 10th win in the last 12 games at 3 p.m. Saturday against UCF (15-12, 6-9) in Orlando, Fla. “You have games like I did last game where I didn’t shoot very well, but at the end of the day it’s just realizing that we’re a team and we’re together and the most important thing is getting the win.”
Lipsey’s accustomed to the rigors of Big 12 basketball. He underwent a baptism by fire as a freshman last season when the league still featured a round-robin schedule. And he’s collected the aches, pains, scabs and scars that surviving the current unbalanced, but just as grueling, conference slate requires, too.
“You’re not gonna play perfect every day,” said Lipsey, who ranks eighth nationally in steals with 75. “You’re gonna have bad games, you’re gonna have great games, you’re gonna have good games, so just staying level-headed (is important). Not getting too high or too low and just having the guys around (you) to lift you up if you have a bad game, or if you have a great game, pull you down a little bit.”
In other words, it’s crucial to stay grounded throughout the 18-game Big 12 schedule. It’s also easier said than done, but so far the Cyclones have avoided anything resembling a skid in conference play. ISU hasn’t lost back-to-back games since the Big 12 season started — and if that trend holds, it will be the first time since 2000 that it’s accomplished that rare feat.
“This is the most connected team I’ve ever been a part of,” senior forward Tre King said. “The most fun team I’ve ever been a part of. The most together team I’ve been a part of. It really shows in our bond off the court and it shows all the time on the court. I can’t describe it.”
It may defy description, but there’s plenty of visual evidence that it’s real. Case in point: The video posted to social media after the Oklahoma win of the team chanting backup guard Demarion Watson’s name. The shouting and the clapping — all of which evinced a broad smile from Watson, who scored a career-high 15 points in the win — served as a prime example of King’s observation.
Watson became the fifth different leading scorer for the Cyclones in the past seven games. He also became the team’s sixth different leading rebounder in that same span, which further demonstrates how ISU’s players happily share the spotlight in what’s been a remarkable season up to this point.
“You’ve got to be a group that’s connected and cares about getting stops,” Cyclone head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “And, you know, most of the time we’ve done that.”
