Iowa State played hard for 40 minutes, but hit the wall over the last 4 minutes in regulation, losing a tough one in Stillwater. Iowa State was up 71-63 with about 4:00 left in regulation, but Oklahoma State outscored Iowa State 33-16 in the final 9 minutes of the basketball game. Iowa State got tired, and Oklahoma State made plays when they needed to.
The combination of bad defense, stupid fouls, and silly turnovers are how Iowa State squandered it away, but unlike past years, this is not due to mental breakdowns. This is more the result of physical breakdowns. When you are a team that is playing 7 guys and rely so much on the outside shot, it is going to be hard to finish games strong.
Aside from getting tired, something that I think killed Iowa State's outcome in this game was not taking advantage of offensive rebounds. Iowa State grabbed 14 offensive rebounds, but it seemed like almost everytime it resulted in a turnover for Iowa State. You have to convert those second chance opportunities when you are on the road. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to take a look at the more in depth stats when they come available on this one.
The guys are playing hard, but finishing on the road, against a physical team, when you are tired is tough. Iowa State did have the ball with 7 seconds left in the game, and committed an offensive foul that gave OSU the chance to win in regulation. If ISU makes does not commit that foul, makes that basket, perhaps the game ends with an ISU win. But, it didn't work out like that, and that's how the game goes sometimes. I'm not going to be fixated on the 9 point loss; it is obvious the game was closer than that.
Individually, Diante Garrett, Jamie Vanderbeken, Bubu Palo, and Jake Anderson all had good games. DG scored 25 points on 10 of 24 shooting, and got 6 assists. Jamie went off from beyond the arc, going 6 of 10 (starting off going 5 of 6), scoring 20 points, getting 9 rebounds, and only committing 3 fouls. Bubu scored 11 points off the bench for Iowa State, going 8 of 8 from the charity stripe, including 2 that tied the game in the final minute. Jake started off slow, but picked it up, especially in OT, scoring 17 points on 6 of 12 shooting, collecting 8 rebounds, and turning the ball over only twice.
On the Oklahoma State side, their bigs killed us, as one may expect. Moses went 18 and 10 with 5 offensive boards; Olukemi went 29 and 8 with 6 offensive boards, 4 steals, and 1 block. Page, their best shooter, did have a good game after getting in foul trouble in the first half, scoring 19 points, and hitting some big 3s that got Oklahoma State into OT.
On one hand, it is a tough way to watch a team lose, and I'm sure the coaches are going to go gray watching the film tonight. On the other hand, it was an exciting game. I was excited about this game all day long, and it lived up to my expectations. I know the effort is going to be there night in, and night out, and that's all I really ask for.
Iowa State drops to 14-5 and 1-3 in Big 12 play. Their next game is against Missouri in Columbia on Saturday at 8pm CST on ESPNU.
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