Instant analysis: Iowa State responds to Iowa loss with no-doubt victory
AMES — The 20th-ranked Iowa State men’s basketball team bounced back from its worst performance of the season with a workmanlike blowout Sunday.
The Cyclones easily dispatched overmatched McNeese, 77-40, at Hilton Coliseum in their first game back since a 75-56 loss to No. 24 Iowa on Thursday.
It was just the type of no-drama performance the Cyclones (8-2) were looking for after a bruising defeat earlier in the week.
"I was happy with how they responded," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "Certainly a performance we’re not proud of (against Iowa), especially in a rivalry, but what you can do is you can learn from it. You can not let it happen again. You can get back to the practice court and you can work.
"Our guys have done that. I've been proud of how they’ve done that each and every day, and they had great intent, came in with a focus ad that was the challenge we had. They stepped up. "
Iowa State was a little slow to put the Cowboys (3-7) away, leading by just nine at halftime, but a burst to begin the second half quickly put them safely out in front and able to cruise toward the final horn.
Jaz Kunc had 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 35 minutes for the Cyclones. Jaren Holmes added 17 points, while Gabe Kalscheur chipped in with 15.
After being gouged by the Hawkeye offense earlier in the week, Iowa State had little trouble containing McNeese, which shot 36.8% from the floor and committed 30 turnovers. The Cowboys did not get their first points of the second half until more than 8 minutes into the frame.
The Cyclones will be off for a week while the university has final exams before welcoming Western Michigan to Hilton Coliseum on Sunday (noon; ESPN+).
A waiting period before seeing what this team is made of
Whatever progress Iowa State makes between now and the Dec. 31 Big 12 opener against Baylor, it’ll likely be seen over at the Sukup Basketball Complex. With low-rated KenPom.com opponents like McNeese (353), Western Michigan (321) and Omaha (315) as tuneups, it’s going to be hard to take away much from the team’s performances at Hilton Coliseum before the Bears arrive.
It’s a function of the necessities and realities of modern scheduling that Iowa State basically goes dormant between the Cy-Hawk game and the Big 12 beginning, but it will leave the public mostly in suspense on whether the Hawkeyes' exposure of the Cyclones was an anomaly or an issue that has since been corrected.
Iowa State will go 23 days between games that will matter except in the case of disaster (losing) or considerable concern (not winning by blowout). That’s the curve you’re graded on when you’re coming off a lopsided loss to a Power 5 rival and then feast on buy-games for three weeks.
"It’s like a bounce-back game for us," Kunc said, "but that game on Thursday is behind us.
"Obviously, (tonight) was a good performance by all of us."
The Cyclones did most of what Otzelberger and his staff could have hoped for Sunday, but it’s hard to discern much past they’re much better than one of the worst Division I programs. Although keeping McNeese scoreless for the first 8 minutes of the second half was quite the feat, as was forcing 30 turnovers.
"We need to come out and punch them in the mouth right away to set the tone. We did that," Kalscheur said. "That was big for our defense, and it kind of started up our offense as well."
Ultimately, the situation is just what it is, which is mostly just awaiting the 12th-ranked Bears, who have become one of the country’s most consistently excellent programs over the last five years.
With the time ahead, Iowa State will undoubtedly be tweaking, correcting and competing on the practice floor to gear up for the unforgiving Big 12 season.
"Every game is important," Otzelberger said. "We certainly have to do what we need to do to prepare for those (non-conference) games, and we’re still learning about our team. There’s things certainly from an identity standpoint defensively that we stand on and we believe in and we’re convicted to.
"We’re always trying to figure out offensively ways we can be more effective, ways the ball can move better, everybody can be more involved. Those are things we’ll continue to discuss and practice and work on."
In the middle of December, it’s way too early to get into the weeds about an NCAA tournament berth, but it is worth noting that Iowa State was just on the right side of the bubble (or First Four) as a No. 11 seed with a perfect non-conference record a year ago. A slightly less successful non-con this year means it’s reasonable to assume Iowa State may have to over-perform its 7-11 mark in Big 12 play from a year ago to get another Dance invitation.
But that’s a discussion for another day.
Gabe Kalscheur steps up as Caleb Grill is ill; Tre King expected to play
Iowa State played without starting guard Caleb Grill, who missed the game due to illness.
Grill is averaging 9.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season while shooting 39 percent from the field and 31 percent from 3.
"Sounds like a really bad flu, really high temperature," Otzelberger said of his senior starter, "and he needs to be smart about getting rest and getting back healthy."
Kalscheur, who started 34 games last year before moving to a reserve role this season, was 6 of 13 from the floor to give the Cyclones a scoring boost. Most importantly, Kalscheur, who has struggled to connect from distance over the last three years and entered Sunday shooting 25 percent from 3, was 3 of 7 from deep.
"We believe in Gabe," Otzelberger said. "Have a lot of confidence in his ability offensively, and it’s great to see him cutting loose and making plays and making shots for us."
The next time Iowa State takes the court, it will feature for the first time Tre King. The 6-foot-7 senior has sat out the last year after transferring from Georgetown. He transferred to Georgetown after three years at Eastern Kentucky but never played for the Hoyas.
He averaged 14.9 points while shooting 49.1% from the floor and 33.9% from 3 as a junior during the 2020-21 season.
"I’m excited for him," Otzelberger said. "He’ll get an opportunity come next Sunday. I’m not exactly sure from a minutes standpoint, but we intend to give him minutes and get him out there.
"He’s worked hard to earn that. "
Jaren Holmes breaks shooting slump
Jaren Holmes, Iowa State's leading scorer, has slogged through a rough shooting stretch, but was 6 of 10 from the floor and 2 of 3 from deep to finish with 17 points.
Holmes was a combined 12 for 44 (27%) the previous four games, with Iowa State going 2-2 over that span.
"The challenge for Jaren is he’s got a lot of ballhandling responsibilities," Otzelberger said, "so there’s more on his mind, and he’s trying to give a concerted effort to make plays for his teammates. … We’ve got to do a great job making sure he feels really comfortable when he’s on the ball, off the ball.
"Hopefully today is a game for him where some good things happened, and he can build his confidence from there scoring the basketball."
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Instant analysis: Iowa State men's basketball team blows out McNeese
