*** Official #6 IOWA STATE vs #2 Houston Game(Day) Thread ***

[danvillecyclone]

Keshon played great, but I felt like his turnover when we were down 5 and had the ball coming off two missed FTs by Houston was huge. We'd hit 2 threes in a row to cut it from 11 to 5 and we had momentum on our side. He made a really poor backdoor pass and they came down and scored. Felt like it took alot of wind out of our sails.

Yes. Very careless in a crucial time.

Wasn’t open. Wasn’t a good located pass anyways. And…I rarely see that pass even attempted. Especially with that much traffic.

 

[jcf817]

So no missed calls on ISU?

Any that obvious?

 

[3TrueFans]

I know, look at the play that led to the inbound. I may be wrong, but I haven't had time to look for it yet.

I'm saying I already did, it was Gilbert on offense, driving baseline, guarded by Cryer, and they called the foul.

 

[Pope]

If you haven't already watched Sampson's post game presser, I'd encourage you to do so. Sampson was very complimentary of Iowa State. He's a big fan of TJ and how he coaches his team.

 

[fsanford]

Any that obvious?

Some obvious misses? Yes. Happens in every game. Remember the Lipsey elbow in the KSU game? He drew blood with the elbow.

 

[Statefan10]

As far as officiating goes, the only question I have is when did freedom of movement stop being a point of emphasis? Both of these teams will need to adjust big time when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

I think this argument is a bit overblown to be honest. People love to use this towards the end of the year to try and spark a conversation but I don't think it's as prevalent as they make it out to be. Do teams like Houston and Iowa State foul a lot? Sure. Do they still play insane defense? Yes. These officials that referee our games are not just Big 12 officials, they go everywhere.

 

[jcf817]

Some obvious misses? Yes. Happens in every game.

The first half was not called evenly and was poorly officiated overall. Saying it wasn't is simply gaslighting.

 

[Cyclonepride]

And generally I am OK with that. The foul discrepancy was not out of the ordinary at all playing on the road (and a lot of it was last 2 minute fouls). What p!ssed me off me was that UH had a handful of borderline dirty plays that weren't called. e.g.-

• The leaning screen on Tamin where the guy just blasted him with his shoulder and dropped him.
• The forearm shiver from Shead to Tamin where Tamin went to the deck and Shead went in for a layup.

It seemed to me like UH made a conscious decision to go after Tamin physically. And I get it, he is critical for ISU and has been banged up. So hit him a few times and put him off his game. And it worked.

Physical is one thing. Handsy fouls in another thing. But cheap shots are on an entirely different level.

Yeah, Tamin also got picked off on a screen where the screener looked like he was doing the limbo with his legs so wide, and Tamin got spun out by the leg.

 

[bawbie]

very impressed with the effort last night. Houston blows people out at home because no one else comes back after that initial gut punch. They fought and scratched and clawed the whole game, but in the end Shead had a great game and that was that.

In a lot of ways it was just a reversal of the game in Ames. In that game, we made FTs and forced 16 turnovers and no one made 3s. In this game, they made FTs and forced 16 turnovers and both teams made 3s.

Us outrebounding them was very impressive. Making 9 3s and outrebounding that team is a win 98% of the team

 

[Statefan10]

This is the impatient piece I constantly bring up. It's a team thing at times.

Otz brought up valuing possessions in the post-game so it's not like it's not a priority. I think sometimes the group gets caught up in the frantic pace and gets out ahead of the skis a bit.

ISU had 16 turnovers last night which isn't just god awful considering who they were playing, but the timing of them coming off a run out from a rebound or steal was the issue.

I'd say Curtis Jones is perhaps the best at just dialing it down a gear or so in intense situations but I think he even had a couple of mishaps last night. A lot of that was Houston too and it's a thing that just happens.

The 'why is ISU just settling for jumpers?!' thing was not shocking but still weird last night. You think ISU wouldn't have loved a few open lanes to the hoop? Haha

In an NCAA tourney game if the calls are tight ISU will need to find a way to dial back their pressure but still defend well or they'll get into trouble pretty quickly.

Absolutely, completely agree. And that's why I think that game was so important for the long run. There's a ton of film to be watched to coach up these guys as far as time and score situations. Numerous big possessions were turned over by us because we went to fast and that's a huge credit to Houston, but we have to learn from it.

 

[JRE1975]

I'm saying I already did, it was Gilbert on offense, driving baseline, guarded by Cryer, and they called the foul.

Sorry, I remembered it wrong, I just found it.

 

[Clonefan32]

Absolutely, completely agree. And that's why I think that game was so important for the long run. There's a ton of film to be watched to coach up these guys as far as time and score situations. Numerous big possessions were turned over by us because we went to fast and that's a huge credit to Houston, but we have to learn from it.

I think the biggest issue were our bigs not getting a "free catch". Most teams allow Rob, Hasan and to a slightly lesser extent Tre, have a free catch 15-20 feet from the rim. It allows us to mitigate any pressure they put on us. If we are being pressured you can just throw it to a big at the extended high post and reset. I thought Houston did a great job of making our bigs uncomfortable by getting into their space and making them make contested catches and passes. It's similar to what we do to other teams as well, and I don't know why more teams don't do it. Make every catch and pass contested.

 

[CycloneErik]

As far as officiating goes, the only question I have is when did freedom of movement stop being a point of emphasis? Both of these teams will need to adjust big time when the NCAA tournament rolls around.

Those points always fall away in conference play.

 

[AuH2O]

Keshon played great, but I felt like his turnover when we were down 5 and had the ball coming off two missed FTs by Houston was huge. We'd hit 2 threes in a row to cut it from 11 to 5 and we had momentum on our side. He made a really poor backdoor pass and they came down and scored. Felt like it took alot of wind out of our sails.

There's definitely going to always be a "take the bad with the good" with Keshon. He's always going hard, always trying to make plays, sometimes trying to force the action a bit. But he continues to get better and better at picking his spots to be aggressive. Last night was just a combo of knowing that he had to make something happen, an elite defense, and super tough game. Not to mention, the minutes he's asked to log and role he plays on both ends of the court, it's a huge ask. He and Tamin are going to have some rough games, just because the game is really on their shoulders and everybody else is largely playing off of those two not just offensively, but also as the tip of the spear on defense.

And it can't be said enough how huge Curtis Jones has been for this team. Another great night with 13/3/2 and no turnovers. He absolutely should be the 6th man of the year in the league. The fact that Tamin or Keshon can have an off night and ISU can still be in a game like vs. Houston or win at TCU doesn't happen without his play.

 

[fsanford]

The first half was not called evenly and was poorly officiated overall. Saying it wasn't is simply gaslighting.

And just crying about it ad nauseam is just being a huge homer.


Did you complain this much when Lipsey dropped the KSU player with an elbow a few weeks ago? Should have been a flagarent 1 and it was a no call. Big call in the game.

 

[CloniesForLife]

Keshon played great, but I felt like his turnover when we were down 5 and had the ball coming off two missed FTs by Houston was huge. We'd hit 2 threes in a row to cut it from 11 to 5 and we had momentum on our side. He made a really poor backdoor pass and they came down and scored. Felt like it took alot of wind out of our sails.

We seemed to turn it over a lot when we'd cut it down to 5 or 6 and they'd go and immediately score. That and some missed FTs down a few was the difference

 

[Cyclonepride]

Absolutely, completely agree. And that's why I think that game was so important for the long run. There's a ton of film to be watched to coach up these guys as far as time and score situations. Numerous big possessions were turned over by us because we went to fast and that's a huge credit to Houston, but we have to learn from it.

It's tough because you have to zip the ball around to try to get their defense out of position, but they were seemingly everywhere. Had a hard time getting past their initial defender or defenders, and even then, it's not like another guy was open cross court or anything. At times, I do think we forced it just to try to make something happen (which we make other teams do a lot too).

 

[Clonefan32]

There's definitely going to always be a "take the bad with the good" with Keshon. He's always going hard, always trying to make plays, sometimes trying to force the action a bit. But he continues to get better and better at picking his spots to be aggressive. Last night was just a combo of knowing that he had to make something happen, an elite defense, and super tough game. Not to mention, the minutes he's asked to log and role he plays on both ends of the court, it's a huge ask. He and Tamin are going to have some rough games, just because the game is really on their shoulders and everybody else is largely playing off of those two not just offensively, but also as the tip of the spear on defense.

And it can't be said enough how huge Curtis Jones has been for this team. Another great night with 13/3/2 and no turnovers. He absolutely should be the 6th man of the year in the league. The fact that Tamin or Keshon can have an off night and ISU can still be in a game like vs. Houston or win at TCU doesn't happen without his play.

And there's definitely MUCH more good than bad with Keshon. He's been exactly what we've needed the last few years. I totally get TJ not messing with his aggression. We need him playing free offensively to be at our best. So you take the good with the bad.

 

[jcf817]

And just crying about it ad nauseam is just being a huge homer.


Did you complain this much when Lipsey dropped the KSU player with an elbow a few weeks ago? Should have been a flagarent 1 and it was a no call. Big call in the game.

Again....who's crying about it? I have an opinion, and you keep responding to it. A LOT of people who watched the first half saw it. It was clear as day how uneven it was.

As for KSU, was the rest of the game called unevenly? I don't remember.

 

[CycloneErik]

very impressed with the effort last night. Houston blows people out at home because no one else comes back after that initial gut punch. They fought and scratched and clawed the whole game, but in the end Shead had a great game and that was that.

In a lot of ways it was just a reversal of the game in Ames. In that game, we made FTs and forced 16 turnovers and no one made 3s. In this game, they made FTs and forced 16 turnovers and both teams made 3s.

Us outrebounding them was very impressive. Making 9 3s and outrebounding that team is a win 98% of the team

No need to call out whoever the 2% of the team is that you're referring to, sir.