Iowa State men's basketball moves to 3-0 with rout of Milwaukee
AMES – Iowa State has dispensed with the first two weeks and first trio of opponents to start the 2022-23 campaign.
Now, things really get going.
The Cyclones improved to 3-0 with a 68-53 victory Sunday evening over Milwaukee at Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa State’s three victories to start the season have come with an average margin of victory of 29 as they’ve mowed down overmatched competition. That situation likely changes this week as the Cyclones head to Oregon to participate in the prestigious Phil Knight Invitational, beginning with a matchup Thursday against Villanova.
Jaren Holmes scored 19 and Caleb Grill notched 11. Robert Jones and Jaz Kunc both added 10. Freshman Demarion Watson had eight rebounds in 21 minutes.
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Taking care of business
There’s probably not a lot to learn from Iowa State’s wins over IUPUI, North Carolina A&T and Milwaukee as all three teams never had a chance of competing with the Cyclones.
That, though, probably shouldn’t be overlooked for this program despite last year’s Sweet 16.
Remember, it was just two years ago that Iowa State struggled early against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and then lost to South Dakota State in what proved to be a hint to the 2-22 nightmare that lay ahead.
It’s worth noting how that is absolutely not the case now for this program in a short amount of time.
It does look like Iowa State’s defense is going to carry over from last year as the Cyclones continue to be terrors in turning over opponents. They ranked No. 1 nationally in turnover percentage entering the game, and they forced 27 turnovers from the Panthers. Milwaukee turned it over on the first five possessions of the game.
"When you can set the tone that way, it should lead to good things," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "We need to be that team defensively, that we’re highly disruptive.
"It’s got to be part of our identity. "
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Offense is more of a mystery.
The Cyclones have put up a ton of points in each of their three games, but that’s not enough to quell the fears that this team will be offensively challenged. Again, putting points up is better than the alternative, but it may not be evidence of anything other than how poor their early-season competition was. At minimum, it’s definitely not enough to change any minds about this team yet on that end of the floor.
Missing all 14 of their attempts from 3-point range in the second half isn’t exactly encouraging in that department.
"Our guys work hard," Otzelberger said. "They’re going to make shots."
More likely, however, is that Iowa State is going to have to find ways to win games when it doesn't shoot the ball well, particularly from distance. Certainly one effective way to do that is to create turnovers like it did against Milwaukee.
The Cyclones need to make the math work for them if they're not a very good offensively team and limiting opponents' attempts by taking the ball away from them before they can shoot it is as good of a strategy as you'll find.
Test awaits
We may not have all the answers about this Iowa State team by this time next week, but we’re going to be a lot closer to understanding what the year ahead might look like.
The Cyclones open with Villanova, which already has two losses but those came on the road to Temple and Michigan State. The Wildcats are a team that have already been tested against the best.
Game 2 will offer a matchup with potentially with No. 1 North Carolina – or, less interesting, Portland. The third game will be against a high-major opponent from the bottom of the bracket.
"I’m excited," Holmes, a transfer from St. Bonaventure, said. "It’s a tremendous opportunity.
"I can’t wait."
It was in New York last year with wins against Xavier and Memphis that made people raise an eyebrow and start taking Iowa State seriously, and the Cyclones will have that opportunity again.
On the flip side, even if things don’t go well – a 1-2 weekend is certainly a possibility – there's probably not going to be a reason to sound an alarm. There will still be a lot of season left.
This, though, will offer a good check-in of where the Cyclones are heading into December.
"This is a great challenge," Otzelberger said. "It’s a great opportunity to go out and play a program like Villanova.
"We’re going to do everything we can to be at our best. That starts with our preparation leading into it."
Kalscheur sits
Gabe Kalscheur, one of two starters back from last year's Sweet 16 team, came off the bench in his new role Saturday, but played just a single 6-minute stretch before sitting out the rest of the game with a bruised hip he suffered in practice."
"When he got out there today he wasn’t moving great," Otzelberger said. "I give him a lot of credit for giving it a go because I know he’s in a lot of pain.
"He couldn’t get any push laterally. We’ll get him some rest and hopefully he’ll be back soon. "
His absence meant more of a reliance on Holmes offensively. Holmes was 7 of 17 from the floor and 3 of 6 from deep.
"We believe in him as a go-to scorer," Otzelberger said.
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: Iowa State men's basketball routs Milwaukee 68-53 in Ames
