Peterson: No. 23 Iowa State was dominating against St. John’s in the Big 12-Big East Battle
AMES – This was big-time, 23rd-ranked Iowa State’s 71-60 victory against St. John’s Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum.
The Big 12/Big East Battle was significant because it’s another notch on the Cyclones’ NCAA resume belt, but also important was the way that the win happened.
T.J. Otzelberger’s 7-1 team hit the Red Storm with a defense they hadn’t seen in a while. That’s the Cyclones’ identity. Sunday, they were on it right from the start, forcing St. John’s into four turnovers in just the game’s first 3½ minutes.
Iowa State doing what it does best was the reason for an eye-opening 17-2 lead just 9 minutes into the first half. During that early stretch, St. John’s had taken just eight shots, all misses, while the Cyclones were 7 for 17.
If that’s not lockdown defense, then nothing is, and get this: Not only was Iowa State playing defense with authority in the first half, players shot well, too, and from all spots on the floor.
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The Cyclones’ early-game domination resulted in a 22-5 lead after a Jaz Kunc turnover forced coach Mike Anderson to call a timeout.
He’d seen enough. His team was 1-for-10, while the Cyclones had taken twice as many shots.
Nothing seemed to bother Iowa State
St. John’s came into the weekend with an adjusted tempo of 75.1 possessions per 40 minutes, according to the KenPom statistics.
Did that quick tempo rattle the Cyclones?
Nope. Through the game’s’ first 30 minutes, the Red Storm had just one fast-break basket. Again, that’s the Iowa State defense making a statement.
“Last year, this year, they probably have the fastest pace,” Otzelberger said last week. “What does that mean? They fly it at you. They want live-ball turnovers. They want long rebounds. They want quick shots and they want to turn them into points.
“That means we’ve got to do a great job sprinting back on defense. That means we’ve got to do a great job on the offensive boards, because when we’re getting the offensive rebound, it doesn’t allow them the opportunity to run.”
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The Red Storm pressed from end-to-end, but did that disturb Iowa State?
No.
The Cyclones had just 10 turnovers while leading 33-22 at the break. That’s probably a few too many for Otzelberger’s liking, but what the scoreboard showed made up for it.
Meanwhile, St. John’s had 15 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. That’s two more turnovers in a half than it averaged its first eight games.
That’s more evidence Iowa State’s defense can dominate games.
How frustrated was St. John’s?
Anderson’s team had three technicals in the first half, including one against Anderson.
Iowa State was called for two techs before intermission, one against Tamin Lipsey, and the other against Gabe Kalscheur.
Next up: At Iowa at 7 p.m., on Dec. 8.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson embarked on his 50th year of writing sports for the Des Moines Register in December 2021. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, 515-284-8132, and on Twitter @RandyPete.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Peterson: Iowa State men's basketball dominated St. John's from start to finish
