Nov 25, 2024; Lahaina, Hawaii, USA; Auburn Tigers forward Johni Broome (4) goes against Iowa State Cyclones center Dishon Jackson (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at Lahaina Civic Center. Auburn defeated Iowa State 83-81. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-Imagn Images
No. 5 Iowa State fell to No. 4 Auburn 83-81 in the waning seconds of its first round game at this week’s Maui Invitational.
In the nightcap, No. 12 North Carolina was able to complete a comeback against previously unbeaten Dayton, setting up a matchup between the Flyers and Cyclones tonight (7:30 p.m. ESPNU).
I pulled our intern Jackson Pence to preview this one with me.
The big takeaway from game 1
FERG – I thought, without a doubt, that Dishon Jackson and Joshua Jefferson looked as impressive as they could have in that game.
As he’s done in practice a few times this year in mini-games the program participates in, Jefferson won the rebounding competition for the Cyclones. Along with it, you got a 9-10 mark from the free throw line from Dishon Jackson, who had a number of big plays in that one.
Obviously, on the other side of things, Iowa State gave up 50 points in the second half and allowed Auburn to storm back after being down by 18 points. Neither of those things can happen if this team wants to reach it’s full potential, but it was an uncharacteristic half on the defensive side.
PENCE – The biggest takeaway from game one is that Iowa State has a really fun and good basketball team. Not to say that they didn’t beforehand, but the Cyclones went toe to toe with a top 3 team in the country and lost on a buzzer beater.
Keshon Gilbert was the best player on the floor for both teams. He scored 23 points on an efficient 8-10 shooting. If he doesn’t get in foul trouble early in that game, the outcome may have been different.
The big question going into the Auburn game was if Dishon Jackson and Joshua Jefferson could hold their own against high-level bigs and competition. The transition from mid-major to high-major basketball is vastly underrated and they both proved right away that they can play at a high level. It is going to be fun watching them play in the Big 12.
What surprised you about Dayton?
FERG – I thought the Flyers looked as complete as any team could look while giving up a similar comeback to the Tar Heels that Iowa State did Auburn.
While things were clicking, though, Dayton moved the ball around well, and hit a few big 3-pointers that can swing momentum in any game.
I thought Nate Santos, Dayton’s leading scorer, impressed, but was taken aback when I saw Amael L’Etang scored his 13 points in 12 minutes. He has some length that created problems and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t get more run time tonight.
PENCE – What impressed me the most about Dayton was how balanced they are in scoring the basketball. The Flyers had six guys in double figures in their opening round 92-90 loss to No. 12 North Carolina. They also knocked down an impressive 14 threes, shooting it at 43.8% (14-32) clip.
Iowa State will have to be quick on rotations because the Flyers will let it fly from anywhere on the court.
What intrigues you about tonight’s matchup?
FERG – I think we’ll see Iowa State really attack the boards against Dayton. As Jackson says below, the Flyers didn’t commit many turnovers against UNC – a lot of opportunities were created on the boards during the Tar Heels’ comeback.
I’m also intrigued to watch what look we get from the Iowa State defense. There’s no doubt that T.J. Otzelberger will be challenging this group to get after it on that side of the ball after Monday’s final 20 minutes. Does that bring more turnovers? And, will it be enough to get you the win to setup a matchup against the back-to-back national champions in UConn? That’s the intrigue for me.
PENCE – How will the Iowa State guards turn Dayton over? The Flyers took care of the ball in the opening round game, only committing 10 turnovers against North Carolina. In the second half against Auburn, the Cyclones only turned the Tigers over five times. For Iowa State to be successful, they are going to have to be more disruptive on the defensive end.
The Cyclones also got outrebounded 21-10 in the second half. Look for that to be an area of improvement against Dayton.
