No loss feels great, but if there was a time to take one, it’s before receiving a knockout punch at the Big 12 Tournament or a season-ending blow during the NCAA Tournament.
The calendar has flipped to March, and Iowa State opened the new month with a high-profile matchup that resulted in a loss at No. 2 Arizona on March 2.
The Cyclones fell to 24-6 overall and 11-6 in Big 12 Conference play. They were tied for fourth place in conference standings as of Thursday morning.
Once on track for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday’s bracketology projections had the Cyclones on the 3-seed or 4-seed lines. There’s still time to make up ground, with the regular-season finale against Arizona State on March 7 followed by the Big 12 Tournament, which is expected to have heavyweight matchups in each round from the quarterfinals through the final.
With only three guaranteed contests left, the Cyclones are looking to empty the tank, finish strong and play a lot more games. They’re trying to reach for another gear as they head down the homestretch.
“There’s not a magic drill or there’s not some motivational speech,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “It’s about doing the hard things and doing them with an unbreakable spirit and a will because your urgency is so high. Because for all this right now, there is no tomorrow. There’s no next time to play in Hilton and so you got to take advantage of the one you have.”
The finality isn’t dawning only on the program’s seniors, who will be celebrated as part of senior-day traditions Sunday at Hilton Coliseum. It’s spreading to everyone else in practice.
Whether it’s four-year Cyclone Tamin Lipsey, a rarity in the transfer portal era, or two-year players Nate Heise and Joshua Jefferson, or graduate transfers Dominick Nelson and Eric Mulder, or all the younger players on the roster, this time of year is bringing everyone’s best.
“It definitely comes with March and just realizing that we’re getting closer to the time when it’s win or go home,” Lipsey said. “Obviously, we still have a final regular-season game and the conference tournament, but you can feel the (NCAA) Tournament getting closer and a lot of people dream of playing in that, so obviously taking it one game at a time to win as many games before we get there, but at the same time, just realizing that the clock is winding down so just not leave anything out on the court.”
The Cyclones host Arizona State (16-14, 7-10 Big 12 Conference), at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 7.
In order to reach another level, the Cyclones have identified shortcomings that they hope to address in the coming weeks.
One apparent theme in recent losses is getting beat on the glass. Iowa State lost on the boards in its back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Arizona, and in each of its six losses this season, it got outrebounded by its opponent.
The Cyclones started with a strong rebounding effort in their recent loss to Arizona before the Wildcats gained separation and started to pull away in nearly every category of the game.
Blake Buchanan has been a bright spot, though, gathering 14 offensive rebounds over the Cyclones’ last two games. They’ll need a better team-wide rebounding effort moving forward.
“The last couple games, we’ve been kind of below our standard (rebounding) percentage-wise,” Buchanan said. “We try to be at 35, 38%, so (Otzelberger) just kind of challenged me and started getting a couple early. It kind of gives you some confidence to keep going and then kind of gets the other team frustrated, so you can get more.”
Defense remains the backbone of Iowa State’s identity. Disruptiveness and the ability to generate turnovers are paramount.
Iowa State forced Arizona to commit 15 turnovers, which is the most the Wildcats had in conference play this season. They’ll need to be consistent in this area to be at their best.
On the other end of the floor, half-court offense and ball movement remain major points of emphasis for improvement, as the Cyclones strive for greater consistency.
“There’s a lot of pieces that go into half court offense, but it’s being tough with the basketball,” Otzelberger said. “It’s screen when it’s necessary, reverse the ball, and it’s play for each other. It’s shoot the ball with confidence, finish at the rim with confidence, go to the foul line with confidence, so I think all of those things go into playing well.”
Iowa State was bound to take some bumps during a loaded Big 12 gauntlet, but does it still have its best basketball within it? The Cyclones are desperate to unlock that next level of their game in time for the lights to be at their brightest.
“There’s times during the year that you learn your lesson from things that don’t go your way, but now, everything is permanent,” Otzelberger said. “It’s the last chance of playing at Hilton. After that, it’s the next thing and the next thing.”
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball reaching for next gear as postseason nears
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
