Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey takes a shot against Kansas on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025, in Lawrence, Kan. Photo Credit: Jay Bigger-Imagn Images
Don’t fool yourself. To Iowa State, Kansas’ record might as well be something-and-oh instead of 11-5, after the Jayhawks’ Saturday 86-75 loss at West Virginia. To the Cyclones, the Jayhawks might as well be Magic’s Lakers, Bird’s Celtics, or John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins.
Seven times in a row, Iowa State has lost at the Jayhawks’ basketball museum, also known as Allen Fieldhouse. Some of the outcomes have been close since that 92-89 overtime win on a February afternoon in 2017. Some have been not so close.
Regardless, Iowa State is still 0-7 on its last seven trips to Lawrence, which is topical again considering that’s the opponent and location for Tuesday’s 8 p.m. ESPN game. If T.J. Otzelberger’s team can win by 23 at then-No. 1 Purdue, certainly it can beat a Kansas team that’s not playing well, right?
Yeah, but remember . . .
Regardless of their record, the Jayhawks play in one of the two best home environments in the Big 12. Fans are scrunched up against the sidelines. In-game entertainment is loud. Bill Self’s team is usually good.
And when the students start that annoying, drawn-out, late-game “Rock-Chalk-Jay-Hawk, K-U-U-U” chant, you know you’re cooked. Start the bus.
Tuesday will be tough for Otzelberger’s team, again, regardless of won-lost records. Playing like it played the past two games might not cut it. Tamin Lipsey getting into early-game foul trouble isn’t exactly the prescription for winning. Milan Momcilovic must be splashing 3-pointers from the jump. Joshua Jefferson needs to control the offense. Blake Buchanan has to own the paint.
The only thing Iowa State’s school-record 16-0 start after Saturday’s 83-71 win against Oklahoma State will mean in Lawrence is motivation for a team that’s 1-2 in the Big 12. You better believe Self will stress that Tuesday is a chance for his team to get well again, because as he told reporters after Saturday’s loss in Morgantown:
“We suck right now — but it’s right now.”
By Kansas standards, he’s probably correct. However, the “but it’s right now” part of his comment, that’s why Iowa State must be on high alert Tuesday night.
“Our league is a b – – – -,” Self said in no uncertain terms.
I’m not predicting doom or the end of a great Iowa State unbeaten streak. Would anyone be shocked if 16-0 became 24-0 when Kansas comes to Hilton Coliseum for a noon game on Feb. 14?
Heck no. This Iowa State team right now is Big 12 championship good. It’s Final Four good. And you know what? It can play better.
The past two games, the Cyclones have followed the finish-better-than-they-start playbook. It’s like there’s a play-well button that Otzelberger pushes before returning to the floor after halftime.
“We’ve been fortunate in a handful of games that at halftime — maybe we’re down, or just not at our best — and find a way to come out of the locker room and get off to a quick start,” he told reporters after Saturday’s game.
Tuesday at Kansas, that switch must be in the “on” position upon arrival. The Cyclones must be good from start to finish.
Regardless of Kansas’ record.
(Columnist Randy Peterson, a past Iowa Sportswriter of the Year winner, can be reached at [email protected] or at any Okoboji-area beverage/food establishment between the hours of open and close.)
