Hilton Magic

The Cyclones' NCAA tournament chances certainly took a huge hit today with the home loss to Nebraska. I'm really not sure what this loss does exactly because losing at home was something I chose not to imagine. It's unbelievable to me that a team that can play so well would have home losses to Nebraska and Colorado in the same season. These are the teams that ISU should be beating by 10 or 15 points.

The team just looked bad all day. They were getting destroyed on the boards and for the second straight game let a freshman post player have his way down low. Maric's a decent player but he shouldn't have a double double in the first half. Staple played no defense all day and for some unknown reason felt the need to take running 15 foot jump shots in the closing minutes of the game. We need a basket and that's the shot we take?

Homan played a great game, everyone else didn't. When they started to make their run in the second half they had it cut to 3 or 4 but then couldn't get anything to drop. They were getting decent shots but it just wouldn't fall. The bottom line is that this team looked a lot like the 0-5 Big 12 team than the 7-0 one. Look at any of the problems from those games and they were there today. No three point shooting (1-11), no rebounding. It's just such a frustrating loss. This team probably needs 4 more wins to get into the tournament. Can they find that magic from earlier in the year or will it be NIT bound again?

It's a long wait between those Tuesday and Sunday games. I want to see the Cyclones back on the court tomorrow. I'm not sure how Kansas does it playing Saturday-Monday all year long!

Speaking of Kansas, the players apparently voted to not talk to the media? Give me a break. They've lost 4 games all year and suddenly the media is just too tough to handle. Can anyone say soft? Personally, I think it's a shame that a talent like Simien has to be wasted playing with guys like Miles and Langford. Yes, they've put up great numbers but they're really not leading this team to much this year. Who did they lose last year? Fatass Graves? Miles is a little punk and Langford will disappear for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. I'm curious why Bill Self seems to refuse to sit J.R. Giddens? Do they really not have anyone else? I saw him put up probably ten or more WTF shots in three games last week. Anytime KU needed a basket he took that as a green light to launch a guarded three with 30 seconds left on the shot clock. Clank. He threw up one ridiculous shot like that and Self immediately pointed to someone on the bench. Finally, I thought, but Giddens stayed in the game.

I'm hoping the Shockers can get a big win against Southern Illinois tomorrow. It would be cool to see Wichita State back in the tournament but they've been struggling lately and played themselves out of the tournament barring some big wins. A tie for the MVC should get them in, IMO. Turgeon seems like a good coach and is always honest in his interviews.

Greg McDermott has been getting some run around here as Iowa's next head coach. I don't think it will happen since he is a Steve Alford Clone minus the Sweet Sixteen appearance. Seriously, all he's done is get UNI to the tournament once by winning Arch Madness and underachieve with what was supposed to be a really good Panther team. I think the guy's an ass based on what happened with Morgan in the game earlier this year. Of course the fact that it was a UNI-Iowa/Alford-McDermott lovefest was pretty disgusting. I seriously though the Register was going to run pictures of the two of them fellating each other and call it the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. Maybe I'm going to far with that one.

Moving on.

I like the Big 12 to get 6 teams into the dance. ISU and Texas are the big question marks but I still think ISU wins out to finish 5th and maybe 4th. Texas is a big question mark in my mind. I guess it depends on if they can beat OU at home assuming they beat Mizzou in Austin. A loss at OSU would then leave them at 9-7 in the conference. I think they're in with that mark.

Here is what needs to happen for the Cyclones to finish with the 4th seed in the Big 12 tournament. No, first, here is why they want this seed. There is some sentiment among Cyclone fans that a 5th seed and a first round matchup with Baylor would be preferable. The argument goes that another win would help their standing with the committee. My contention is that an extra day of rest enhances their chances of getting wins that matter (and Baylor isn't one of those). I believe that just stepping onto the court with Baylor would hurt ISU's RPI slightly. Conference standing is one of the most important factors for the committee and sitting in a tie with OU and TT would look a lot better than being a game back.

So, the Clones are two games back right now. They only need to get into a tie with any of the contending southern teams because they own the head-to-head tiebreaker with all of them. First, ISU needs to win out and finish 10-6. Then one of two things needs to happen. Texas Tech needs to lost two of their remaining games. The most likely being @A&M and to OU at home. The third game is @Baylor. It's not inconceivable that they could lose two of those three but that's a lot to ask. The other option is for OU to lose two of their next three. This is the more likely scenario as they play Baylor and then finish @Texas and @Tech. So, basically, we need the team that loses the OU-Tech game to lose another one too coupled with three Cyclone wins. Whew.

It's just my general perception but I think the Big 12 is a better conference this year than last year. It seems that ISU, A&M, Tech, and Kansas State are all better teams this year. Baylor is still struggling, Mizzou sucks this year, and CU is a lot worse but overall everybody has some decent wins. Despite that it looks like Wooldridge and Collier are both on the hot seat.

I think it's a shame what John Chaney did against St. Joe's. If you missed it he put in a "goon" (his words) to play rough and give up some hard fouls. The player fouled out in four minutes and ended a guy's season. Great. I understand you wanted to send a message about illegal screens but that's not the way to do it. You're too good of a coach to go out like that.

I think I'm really going to miss Steve Alford. He was always good for a laugh as he was completely out of touch with reality. There were some great stories about him expecting everything in Iowa City to be free for him and always blaming his players until it became too ridiculous for him to not take some of the blame himself. He had his success against ISU but the Hawkeye's inevitable collapse during the conference season was a sight to behold. We'll miss you, Steve. You'll always be December Champs in our mind.

That's the sound of the bandwagon breaking down from all the weight. Anyway, there's still four minutes left but this is over and I pretty much know what I want to write about. After all the positive things that have happened over the last month or so ISU was just sort of due for a game like this. I was hoping that they could pull it out but they just look exhausted. They haven't made a field goal in 11 minutes or so but part of that is because the refs call 2 fouls on every possession. It's hard to say that ISU got screwed by the refs when they've shot more free throws for most of the game but there have been some serious phantom fouls called on ISU players and some muggings go unnoticed for the Aggies. ISU really let it get into their heads, I think.

A&M isn't a bad team and have played really well at home so this isn't a devastating loss but the margin of victory is certainly more than I thought it would be. It just seems like everything that could possibly go wrong has. THey're shooting close to 25% from the field, everyone has been in foul trouble limiting their effectiveness, they haven't been able to get into a rhythm at all offensively due to the whistles. It's just been an ugly game and the Cyclones certainly haven't played well or dealt well with it.

The good news is that they don't play again until Sunday and they can still finish the season by winning out. A&M whipped CU on the road and the home games should be winnable. This team will be ok.

A network TV win on the road against the number 2 team in the country will generally garner some attention. Add the fact that the win is the 7th in a row and the 4th against a ranked team and you're going to get a lot of attention.

Let's see, here's a partial list:
Curtis Stinson Big 12 Player of the Week, Andy Katz's national player of the week
ISU on the front pages of ESPN.com and SI.com and front sports page stories in the NY Times, Boston Globe, USA Today and just about everywhere else that matters
A spot in everybody's bracket projections and #26 in the AP poll

It's pretty strange that last week the Cyclones were barely making it onto a few of the bubble lists and one win lets them essentially skip all the way over the bubble and into the tournament. I've seen seeding projections everywhere from 8-12 seeds. An 8 seed puts them against a #1 seed if they win in the first round which is tough but there are some beatable top seeds this year. Boston College, UNC, UK and KU are all potential #1's that I could see being upset. A 12 seed sets up a decent run against a 5 and 4. Pretty much any seed sounds good at this point and there's a lot of basketball to play.

I'm a little worried about the upcoming game for the Cyclones. A&M isn't a bad team and the potential for a slipup is looming while everyone is busy patting them on the back. The team needs to stay focused and lock up a win in College Station to really make some ground in the NCAA and Big 12 seeding. A KU win over OU tonight would allow ISU to move into the 4th seed in the Big 12 tournament which would really help them out. It wouldn't surprise to see them make a run into Sunday in the tournament. It's going to help that the tournament in in Kansas City.

Back to the Aggie game there's a nice writeup on ISU's defense from A&M Coach Gillespie's perspective.

I'm on my way out the door to Omaha but I had to put something up about this game. This team is really something special. To come back and win in overtime after coming so close to choking in away is something you don't see very often. That said, MAKE SOME FREAKING FREE THROWS!!! Holy crap.

Anyway, ISU is 3-3 in their last 6 in Lawrence and could move into the 4th seed in the conference tournament with an OU loss today. They're up 4 right now.

So many great performances today between Stinson and Homan and everyone really. They all did their part and this team is on its way to the dance baby!

I like to provide a little public service now and then and thought I would point out a few errors from last year's game in Allen Fieldhouse that the officials might like to correct before tomorrow.

1. Play cannot continue between free throws if a player is shooting two. This is absolutely critical. Although it may be tempting for a team to grab the rebound and run downcourt while the shooting team stands there, it is still a dead ball. It is crucial to know that there are two free throws and you must shoot both of them before play can continue.
2. Both feet must be behind the line for a three-point basket. Even if it is just a toe on the line the basket counts as two points. There was a problem with this at the end of the game last year allowing Kansas to win the game in overtime. Also, just in case the official isn't quite sure you are allowed to watch a replay of the shot to determine the correct call. They put the televisions on the sideline for just this purpose. It might seem like Max Falkentstein is using it to do the radio broadcast for another game but he's just really old and can't see the game in front of him.
3. The home team is called for the same fouls as the visiting team. Just because 16,000 people are cheering for one team does not allow them to grab the visiting guards as they dribble at the top of the key while they are called for hand checks on the opposite end. Either they're both fouls or they both aren't. "The Phog" isn't a code word for a different set of rules for each team.
4. Just because Kansas fans are whining about the officiating at the end of the Texas Tech game doesn't mean they deserve make up calls for the rest of the season. They always get those calls anyway so there's really no need to go overboard because the most visible team in the conference thinks they got jobbed.
5. This isn't really from the Kansas game last year but how can you call a charge and a block on the same play? And how can you not count that basket? Yes, I still hate Michigan State and I'm still bitter.

So, hopefully this will help create a fair game for both teams this Saturday.

And to the Cyclones, remember the words of Jamaal Tinsley before the 2001 Kansas game where he scored 18 points, dished 6 assists, and had three steals leading Iowa State to its fourth straight over the hawks.

"It's just another gym."

Iowa State rolled to a 15 point win against the Cats last night in Ames. The defense was really outstanding and held K-State to 19 first half points. The second half was pretty much a walk-through for both teams. It's nice to see that Carr is still hot from beyond the arc shooting 3 for 5 and John Neal even hit two.

One amazing thing about the game is that it was such a dominating performance with only 6 total points from Blalock and Homan. They only combined for 7 shots as well. You'd get laughed out of the gym if you told somebody a few weeks ago that ISU would get those numbers from them and still win going away. Both played within their game and got their assists or rebounds while playing some solid defense. Stinson played another great game with 16 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. The team shot over 57% in the first half for the second best half of the year. Another interesting number to note, 42 points is the fewest scored against Iowa State since the '99-00 team held UNI to 41.

The team is well on its way to finishing the year with more assists than turnovers which hasn't happened in a while. They're also doing a fantastic job of forcing turnovers and scoring points off them. KSU had 19 last night and the Cyclones scored 17 points off them, most in the first half. Earlier in the year I said that ISU has to be the worst layup shooting team in the nation but they've even figured that out lately. They can finish around the glass thanks to better spacing and more confidence. It's nice to see guys take it up strong instead of trying to avoid any contact.

I've really been impressed with Damion Staple's progression on offense. At times this year he's looked like I did back in my 5th grade YMCA games. His confidence is soaring and he'll actually hit a few jump shots which is pretty rare for him. One thing I really like about what he is doing is drawing contact on his shots. He's a horrible free throw shooter so it isn't always a good thing but he's had several three point play opportunities. I didn't expect to ever say this but we might actually miss him some next year.

The Kansas game is coming up on Saturday and I'll be back later this week with my referee's guide. There have been some problems in the past in Lawrence so I thought I'd do my part to get things straightened out.

The atmosphere in Hilton was great yesterday. It's always fun to see a full house and the crowd was really energized by the great plays. It seemed like every few minutes Stinson or Blalock was throwing a ridiculous pass for a dunk or a layup. The whole game may have been a highlight film. A few of my favorites would be Stinson's halfcourt bounce pass and his alley oop to Homan.

Speaking of Jared, he played great tonight. There were about 150 fans from Remsen that made the trip from the game and he really put on a show for them. He's been facing a lot of double teams in the post and he's gotten better about passing out them. He still won't be confused with Yao Ming passing from the post but he is doing pretty well. I like that the guards will work to get him the ball when they can. It was nice to see them go right into him after Tech's post went out with his 4th foul. He was abusing one of their guys (44, I think) and Knight sat him on the bench for the rest of the game. Jared is so much fun to watch because he always plays with so much passion. He came out of the game for a second and was pretty upset about it. #50 got a tip-in bucket and Morgan sent him right back into the game. Homan was visibly pissed that he wasn't in there to get that rebound while he was waiting to go back in there.

Hilton Magic strikes again! So, let's look at the numbers. A five game winning streak, three of those wins against ranked teams. The team stays in a tie with Texas for 5th in the conference and moves up to .500 in conference play.

Tech was on fire early but ISU weathered the storm. Ronald Ross is a hell of a player for them and he really hit his shots today. The highlights of the game have to be the great passes. Blalock and Stinson looked like Tinsley out there today. Behind the back, over the shoulder, no-look, anything you could think of. Homan was the biggest beneficiary scoring 23 points to break out of his mini-slump. It seemed like everybody put up great lines today. Stinson 13-6-7, Blalock, 15-6-6-4 steals, Tasheed Carr 17-8-5-3.

Once again they played some great defense and forced a lot steals, holding Tech to 13 below their season average. 13 steals today and 18 total turnover for Tech. They did a good job of keeping the tempo up and hitting shots when they needed them. Things are looking a lot better for the Cyclones' tournament chances.

Did anyone think that would even be possible a few weeks ago?

I really think this team is finding its stride and playing with so much confidence. When Nebraska pulled ahead by 5 late in the second half the old Cyclones would have packed it in and lost by 10 or so but this team seems like it decided it's not going to lose those games anymore. Carr and Clark continue to provide some much needed three point shooting at critical times. Both of them made major, major shots.

Another story was the return of Stinson. He played a great game tonight and cast off some of the doubters from early in the year. I knew he had it in him and there isn't anyone else I'd rather have with the ball when we need a basket. I thought he got fouled on a couple of his missed layups. I thought the refs were pretty bad all game. They were inconsistant on their calls and blew the whistles on the Cyclones at some bad times while letting the Huskers get away with a lot. It's about what I expect from Big XII officials.

I'll have more thoughts later after I look at the stats and think about the game for a while. This week's game with Texas Tech is shaping up to be huge. ISU's currently in a tie for 6th pending the outcome of the Texas game tonight.

The team woke up this morning with a conference road winning streak for the first in a long, long time. It must feel great to get this win. For those that aren't Iowa State fans it must seem a little strange to be this happy about one win when we're still way back in the standings but this streak has been an albatross on the necks of these teams. So many close losses that just kept mounting and mounting to make a ridiculous streak that I never thought I would see.

"I can't put it into words. There isn't a better feeling for me right now. I just give it up for my teammates." Jared Homan

"This is pure joy. Fortunately, we got this one, and hopefully we're fortunate enough to get some more." Wayne Morgan

So, it might be kind of easy to forget about what's coming up for this team. The standings right now look like this.

1. Kansas 8-0
2. Okie State 7-2
3. OU 6-2
4. Texas Tech 6-2
5. Texas 4-4
6. A&M 4-5
7. KSU 3-5
8. ISU 3-5
9. Nebraska 3-5
10. CU 3-6
11. Mizzou 2-7
12. Baylor 1-7

I would guess that the Big 12 would only get five teams in the tourney with an outside chance at six if someone really steps up. I would guess that there is a chance that only 4 teams get in if several teams finish at 9-7. The margin of error for Iowa State is razor thin but I'm all about speculation and wild-eyed optimism so let's take a look at the Cyclone's remaining schedule. The upcoming week is absolutely crucial. If they drop one of these games I would guess they would essentially be eliminated outside of a Big 12 Tournament championship. These are disguised as predictions but it's going to be what I think they need to do to at least put themselves on the bubble with a good chance to get into the dance.

At Nebraska A 2 game road winning streak? It's possible. They have home losses to Creighton, Minnesota, Texas, and Kansas but they have beaten K-State and A&M there. KU didn't have much trouble there on Saturday and Texas won by 10 but I believe they still had Tucker for that game.

Texas Tech Easily the biggest surprise of the conference this year. The game is already a sellout and if ISU wins at Nebraska the crowd will be insane for that one. Johnny Orr will be back in the house along with the '84 team. There are a lot of things lining up for this game. A bunch of my friends are coming back for this game and the last time we were together along with Johnny Orr in the house? A win over Oklahoma State to all but clinch the first of our Big 12 championships. Tech is good but I expect Iowa State to beat everyone at home.

Kansas State ISU should have beaten them in Manhattan. I think they can win this one going away.

At Kansas On paper it looks like a sure loss, and it probably is, but the game last year was a lot closer than anyone expected. I'm sure we can count on the usual home cooking refs that throw our coaches out and give KU three pointers between our free throws.... Yes, I'm bitter.

At Texas A&M Probably a very key game if they keep winning since we'll be fighting them for that 5th spot but winnable.

Nebraska At home, should be a win.

Missouri Will they be playing for Quin's job or have given up on the season? My guess is they'll be dead outside of the KU game but that's what I thought about the football game this year. Ugh, the potential parallels to that game are eerie.

At Colorado Going to be a tough game but with the bad blood the last couple of years and the potential for some revenge it's another winnable game.

So, it looks like they could finish 10-6 in the conference which would put them around 5th in the league. Texas needs to keep losing and some other teams will have to drop a few games but we have a game left with everybody except the teams we probably can't catch or won't need to and Texas.

For the first time since my sophomore year in college and Jamaal Tinsley was running the show Iowa State went on the road in a conference game and came home with the win! It's been an unbelievably frustrating couple of years with so many lost opportunities mixed in with some horrible performances. I think back to some of those games where it seemed like ISU was screwed by some fluke play or horrible call late in the game but they didn't leave too much doubt in this one. Well, except for the whole overtime part, but you know what I mean. Speaking of overtime, not only did The Streak end but a few other streaks ended as well. They hadn't won a conference game in overtime since the late 90's, hadn't beat a ranked team on the road in a long time, hadn't ever won at Texas (which was the first loss of The Streak).

My thoughts on a couple of players:
Curtis Stinson- Played well at times and was terrible at times. I was really getting frustrated with him at times when he would make a lazy pass and then jog down the court trying to pick up a basket cherry picking. I guess Wayne Morgan felt the same because Curtis was on the bench for about 4 minutes towards the end of the 2nd half until Clark fouled out with less than a minute. I have to give him credit for fighting back to have a good finish in OT. He ended up with a double-double 17 points, 11 rebounds.

The Man off the bench was obviously Tasheed Carr. He carried this team in overtime scoring 8 of our first 10 in the first half of the overtime including two huge threes. He finished with 22 points in 26 minutes. He and Clark are playing fantastically lately and it's no coincidence that ISU is winning. Carr outscored the entire Texas team in the overtime.

Will Blalock can really take over games when he needs to. He's so quick ionto the lane and is beginning to finish more often. He's really what keeps this team getting quick baskets like they do.

This team showed so much poise today. They were down 6 or 7 fairly late in the game but they didn't panic and played their game. The defense was what they needed again today and kept Texas on their heels for much of the game. The schedule sets up nicely for ISU to make a late season charge to finish 6th or maybe even 5th with some luck. It sure would be nice to have that Colorado game back, let alone Missouri. But, those are in the past and I'm just going to enjoy the heck out of this one.

They are on the road against Nebraska this week and should have a good chance to get a road winning streak started. Let's get it done.

ISU Media RelationsIowa State sophomore forward Robert Faulkner has been
dismissed from the basketball team for failure to comply with team requirements,
Iowa State head coach Wayne Morgan announced today. "It is very unfortunate and
painful to have to separate a student-athlete from our program," Morgan said. "I
feel it is important to make it clear that his dismissal has nothing to do with
Robert's academic situation."Faulkner averaged 3.7 ppg and 3.0 rpg in 12 games
this season for the Cyclones.Morgan will have no further comment.

Looks like Faulkner is gone which will further deplete what was already looking like a thin frontcourt next year. Agnew didn't look ready in the few minutes he's played over the last few games so it will be interesting to see if Taggart will be ready to contribute or not. He's the 48th ranked player and claims he wants to make Ames a short stop on his way to the NBA. He'll need to prove it.

I really liked Faulkner's game when he was able to play if he would have been able to stay out of foul trouble. Dissappointing.

ISU finally put a couple of good games together and looked like the team many thought they could be. I don't have time to go too in depth but a few factors are really making a difference.

Once again, the players outside of the big three. Rashon Clark has been playing brilliantly the last few games. He put up 15 points in the 19-1 run to finish the first half and pull away from Baylor. He was all over the court. Making steals, hitting the offensive glass, running the break, knocking down threes, throwing down monster dunks. This is the play we have needed form him and the other guys. Staple looked good again grabbing some boards and hitting a few shots, including a nice jumper from the free throw line. The team was having a blast last night and were playing with a confidence I haven't seen this year. Having these guys scoring means that guys like Stinson will start to trust them with the ball. Stinson hasn't been shooting well but he really let the game come to him and was 5-6 from the field for 15 points. It's hard to imagine him only taking 6 shots based on earlier games but this will really help him get better shots.

Some stats I picked up courtesy of FarmerClone at CycloneReport.com really tell some impressive things about this team. During conference play the Cyclones are averaging 11 steals and 10.8 turnovers. It's not very often that a team will average more steals than they do total turnovers. The team is +8.0 per game and leading the Big 12 by nearly three per game. They are one of only five teams that force more turnovers than they commit. Obviously, the pressure defense and long, athletic players are having an effect.

Unfortunately, these haven't translated into too many conference wins yet but I think that can start to change, too late to make the tourney, but still a chance to improve. Texas is struggling a little bit without P.J. Tucker so maybe a road win isn't totally out of the question? Heh, maybe I shouldn't get too much ahead of myself.