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Weekend Wrap - South Dakota State Jackrabbits pull week's biggest upset - ESPN
[h=4]Team of the Week[/h]Iowa State: This wasn't a week in which ranked teams had much opportunity to make noise. Only three games pitted ranked teams against each other, with weekend offerings limited to Stanford routing Gonzaga on Saturday and Penn State moving on from its loss in South Dakota with a win against Texas A&M on Sunday. For most teams it was a week to think more about tests off the court. Iowa State nevertheless passed one on it with an 83-70 win against Iowa.
Excluding the Hawkeyes, Iowa State's opponents owned a 30-39 record as play began Sunday. With Eastern Washington, North Dakota, Northern Iowa and South Dakota on that list, it was missing only Western Illinois to hit for the compass cycle. But its in-state rival was a real opponent, and Iowa State led by as many as 21 points in the second half and cruised to a win in which the Cyclones attempted 49 free throws, 27 3-pointers and just 29 two-point field goals, more or less a dream formula for Bill Fennelly.
Is this really the best 3-point shooting team Iowa State has had in a few seasons, as its overall shooting numbers suggest and Brynn Williamson (pictured above right) tried to reinforce with her effort against Iowa? Will the free throws -- and the Cyclones have attempted more than twice as many as their opponents -- continue when the road games come more frequently? It's too soon to say. But because of what they showed in a game that mattered, the questions still matter.
Weekend Wrap - South Dakota State Jackrabbits pull week's biggest upset - ESPN
[h=4]Team of the Week[/h]Iowa State: This wasn't a week in which ranked teams had much opportunity to make noise. Only three games pitted ranked teams against each other, with weekend offerings limited to Stanford routing Gonzaga on Saturday and Penn State moving on from its loss in South Dakota with a win against Texas A&M on Sunday. For most teams it was a week to think more about tests off the court. Iowa State nevertheless passed one on it with an 83-70 win against Iowa.
Excluding the Hawkeyes, Iowa State's opponents owned a 30-39 record as play began Sunday. With Eastern Washington, North Dakota, Northern Iowa and South Dakota on that list, it was missing only Western Illinois to hit for the compass cycle. But its in-state rival was a real opponent, and Iowa State led by as many as 21 points in the second half and cruised to a win in which the Cyclones attempted 49 free throws, 27 3-pointers and just 29 two-point field goals, more or less a dream formula for Bill Fennelly.
Is this really the best 3-point shooting team Iowa State has had in a few seasons, as its overall shooting numbers suggest and Brynn Williamson (pictured above right) tried to reinforce with her effort against Iowa? Will the free throws -- and the Cyclones have attempted more than twice as many as their opponents -- continue when the road games come more frequently? It's too soon to say. But because of what they showed in a game that mattered, the questions still matter.