People need to just settle down. There are several new pieces to this team and they are still working out the kinks and figuring out their roles. This team and this staff have some big goals for this season and losing a game against what looks like a pretty talented Maryland team in November doesn't change any of that.
I looked at the game last night as a similar performance to what we saw against Kansas last year during the regular season. How did ISU fair against that Kansas team with a 7 footer in the paint? Not well. Did ISU miss a bunch of bunnies around the basket due to the presence of a big man down low? They sure did. Has ISU gotten any bigger in the paint this season (Mckay will change all of that Dec. 20th)? Not yet. Did Maryland's size advantage down low bother ISU? It absolutely did. Did ISU get many clean or uncontested rebounds last night? Nope. It sure is hard to push the tempo and beat teams down the floor when guys are fighting off guys for rebounds. Maryland in reality was as much of a matchup nightmare for ISU as Kansas was last year with Embiid... maybe even worse because Maryland has guys that can shoot from the perimeter. Maryland's size took away the garbage buckets underneath that Hogue and Niang thrive off of. It took away the guards ability to take their defender off the dribble and get to the rim... AND FINISH. It created frustration offensively that got ISU all out of whack on the offensive end as they quit passing, they quit moving, they quit running the offense as a whole, and led to too much one on one play or poor shot selection.
Now with all of that said... ISU isn't going to shoot 29% from the floor too often. Iowa State isn't going to get rattled by opponents with size inside as much once McKay gets in the lineup. Edozie showed that he can get in there and bang with the big boys too and contribute some solid minutes as well. As poorly as Iowa State played last night they were still in that game (the Hogue hip-check foul and the BDJ intentional foul certainly didn't help). Take away a few boneheaded plays, add a stop or two, and even with one of the worst shooting games in the Hoiberg Era they would have had a chance to steal that game. That right there should tell you what this team is capable of doing.
Step back from the ledge, take a deep breath, let the Mayor work his magic, let the players figure this out, remember that McKay will be patrolling the paint soon, and this team will put all of the pieces together. This early season loss is nothing more then a sign that there is still some work to do before this team really starts to flex it's muscles. It's all good in Focus Town, USA!