Wednesday, February 02, 2005
ISU rolls the Bears
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.
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.
# posted by Ben @ 4:55 PM 
