Iowa State basketball: TJ Otzelberger mid-season evaluation of team
As Iowa State turns its focus to Big 12 play, head coach T.J. Otzelberger shared his reflections on where the Cyclones still need to finetune things.
AMES − Now, the real fun begins.
Iowa State men’s basketball closed out non-conference play with a win over visiting Morgan State on Sunday afternoon. The Cyclones crushed the Bears, 99-72. With the victory, they also went undefeated at Hilton Coliseum during the 2024 calendar year.
“We’re feeling very confident,” Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey said. “Our connectedness together, offensive end and defensive end, we’re ready for the challenge of (Big 12) competition. Obviously, some of us have been through it, know it’s a grind and everyone’s looking forward to it.”
Lipsey led the Cyclones with 20 points on 8-of-9 shooting with five assists and three steals. Curtis Jones had 19 points and six assists off the bench. He also had a block where he stuffed a Morgan State dunk attempt from behind. Keshon Gilbert had 18 points on an efficient 8-of-9 clip, with seven assists. Dishon Jackson finished with 12 points, five blocks and two steals.
Joshua Jefferson recorded his fourth double-double in the last five games. He had 11 points and 12 rebounds, as well as three blocks and two steals in the winning effort. Milan Momcilovic chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
“That’s what we do,” Momcilovic said. “We got very good balance this year, our frontcourt guys and guards, so expect to see five, six guys in double digits every game. It’s good balance.”
The Cyclones scored a season-high 50 first-half points. They took a 50-34 halftime lead and they were unrelenting for the remainder of the game.
Iowa State shot 18-of-27 (66.7%) in the second half and led by as many as 27 points.
Overall for the game, the Cyclones shot 36-of-59 (61.0%) overall and 7-of-20 (35.0%) from the three-point line.
After a promising 17-3 blitz to start the game, the Cyclones were sluggish on both ends of the court for a chunk of the first half. Morgan State didn’t have enough firepower to overtake Iowa State and never led, but it was able to hang around. The Bears trimmed the deficit down to a two-possession game, when a Kameron Hobbs basket made it a 20-16 game with 10:15 remaining.
“Defensively, specifically, we’ve got to be better guarding the basketball, guarding the middle pick-and-roll, those were both exposed today by fast guards and a really good coach that had a week to prepare and put us in some really challenging positions,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “They did a great job of spacing us and using their speed and space to take advantage, so we got to be better.”
Iowa State basketball: TJ Otzelberger on team’s non-conference slate
Iowa State basketball coach T.J. Otzelberger reflected on the Cyclones’ non-conference slate.
The Bears were strong on the glass early on and outrebounded the Cyclones through the first 12 minutes of the game. They generated some solid drives to the basket and made a few finishes in traffic. Iowa State hit a couple of early-game shooting droughts, but it ramped up the effort on both ends of the court in the closing minutes of the first half.
Jackson and Jefferson each drilled a series of free throws to spark a 13-2 run that was capped off by a pair of Jones free throws to give Iowa State a 39-25 lead with 4:37 left in the first half. The Cyclones’ lead never dipped down to single digits after that.
For Morgan State, Kameron Hobbs had a game-high 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting, with four steals. Amahrie Simpkins added 18 points and eight rebounds.
The Bears shot 29-of-63 (46.0%) overall and 4-of-9 from deep.
Iowa State improved to 10-1 and will play its final game of 2024 on Monday, Dec. 30, when it opens Big 12 play on the road against Colorado. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT. The Cyclones have already beaten the Buffaloes this season, 99-71 at the Maui Invitational, but that game did not count toward conference standings.
“I think there’s a lot of positives to take away from what we’ve done (in non-conference play),” Otzelberger said. “I think it’s shown, we’ve seen at times the team that we can be. I would say the consistency is going to be something that we need to continue to work on. On both ends. I’m pleased with where we’re at … now, as our guys go home for the break and have some time with their families, it’s shifting gears. It’s turning that page to the next part of the schedule.”
Iowa State went 16-0 at Hilton Coliseum in 2024. Nine of those victories came during the 2023-24 season, and seven this season.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
