CLEVELAND, OHIO – MAY 06: Tyrese Haliburton #0 of the Indiana Pacers after the Pacers celebrates with teammates after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in game two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at Rocket Arena on May 06, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio. The Pacers defeated the Cavaliers 120-119. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
We’re back with musings on Tuesday this week, and even though things have slowed down, there’s still plenty of things to get to.
Let’s muse.
Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers have the juice
Since my last column, former Cyclone Tyrese Haliburton made the most famous bucket of his career, and has since put his Indiana Pacers up 3-1 over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
ICE IN HIS VEINS 🥶
TYRESE HALIBURTON CALLED GAME. pic.twitter.com/hnX4VknD9O
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 7, 2025
The Pacers’ star hit the game-winning shot to push Indiana past Cleveland in a 120-119 win on Tuesday.
As far as playoff runs go, momentum can play a big role, and the good news there is that this Indiana team has some juice.
Game 5 is Tuesday night at 6 p.m. on TNT.
Iowa State Softball snubbed from NCAA Tournament
In the less fun news from the last week, Iowa State Softball was left out of the NCAA Tournament after its best regular season in program history. I wanted to dive into the ‘why’ a little bit, and attempt to explain what the committee was thinking and what direction the program is heading in.
Iowa State has some young stars – the program put three freshmen onto the all-conference freshman team, two of which (Jessie Clemmons & Sereniti Trice) made overall all-Big 12 teams. Junior Tatum Johnson made all-Big 12 honors as well, along with the aforementioned Karlee Ford.
Along with those four, sophomore starting pitcher Lauren Schurman really showed off her play once the conference season started, delivering a number of series opening wins.
I say all this to point out that barring the transfer portal, Iowa State is returning all but one of its key lineup players next season, so the expectations are going to be a bit higher for next year.
Looking to Add On 📈
🌪️🥎🌪️ pic.twitter.com/S37A677yU7
— Iowa State Softball (@CycloneSB) May 9, 2025
The Cyclones finished the year at 31-23, but struggles in non-conference play made the most damage on their resume. It took the young team a little bit longer to get going than the rest of the country.
Iowa State dropped three quad 4 games, and had a non-conference RPI of No. 96 when it was all said and done.
There’s a reason that metric isn’t being used to select postseason teams for the basketball tournament, and I’m not exactly sure why its used as much as it is in baseball and softball. Here’s the full RPI from season’s end.
That dragged Iowa State, which got its final RPI up to No. 65 after the successful conference season, in those metrics.
This goes along with the committee’s doubt of the Big 12. The conference’s champion in Texas Tech was seeded as the No. 12 team in the country and had an RPI of just No. 17.
I don’t want to rile everyone up, as that X post did to the softball fans. It may be fair Iowa State was left out.
But the Cyclones beat some tournament teams in the regular season and won 15 (!) Big 12 games. For reference, as Brent Blum likes to say, it’s next best year had just eight conference wins.
Here’s to Jamie Pinkerton’s squad that I can’t wait to see next year.
Quick Hits
If you’re into jersey numbers, here’s Iowa State’s NFL guys.
New Homes ✅
New Numbers ✅ pic.twitter.com/aJDrBdZhTc— Iowa State Football (@CycloneFB) May 12, 2025
Some of the teams have been posting 5-10 second clips of the guys or photos since workouts started out – let me know if that’s something y’all would want included here.
A short primer on each of the Stanley Cup Playoff series:
Dallas – Winnipeg (2-1, DAL)| The Stars have turned into a wagon thanks to Mikko Rantanen. The trade deadline acquisition has exploded in the stat books and leads the NHL in points in the playoffs with 18 in 10 games so far. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck has looked bad away from home, and Dallas will look to exploit that again Tuesday.
Players in NHL history to record 9+ goals and 8+ assists over a six-game span in the playoffs:
Mikko Rantanen (2025)
Wayne Gretzky (1982-83)That’s it. pic.twitter.com/2ATLmX39dE
— Greg Harvey (@BetweenTheNums) May 12, 2025
Edmonton – Vegas (3-1, EDM) – We got a buzzer beater the other night and despite winning 3-0 against Vegas, yesterday’s game had a few scraps. These teams hate each other and there’s no guarantee this series is over.
Toronto – Florida (2-2) – If you’re a fan of physicality, these two teams are what you want to see. Florida head hunts more than some teams we played against growing up, which is wild to say for a team in the NHL. Sam Bennett is a target after his hit on Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz and Max Domi is catching some heat on the other side.
Carolina – Washington (3-1, CAR) – The Hurricanes have got the Caps on the ropes and it doesn’t seem like Washington has the juice to stop them. We’ll see if Ovechkin can pull out a miracle.
Indy 500 & the kickoff to ‘The month of May’
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Indianapolis 500 practice kicks off today and runs all through the week. Just five full days of preparation – more practice than any race on the planet – for the toughest one in the world.
If you like having baseball on in the background during the day, this gives off similar vibes.
