The #8 Iowa State Cyclones look end a three game skid as they welcome the Horned Frogs of TCU. For much of the season Iowa State was considered a top team in the country after a pre-conference schedule that saw the cyclones take now number one team Auburn down to the wire; ESPN had them as a 1 seed in the NCAA tournalment just two weeks ago.
TCU has struggled in conference play, coming in at last or second to last in field goal percentage, three point field goal percentage, assists per game and points per game. In their last contest the Horned Frogs did secure a win against Colorado in Fort Worth as they looked to take on a herculean task of beating the Cyclones in Ames.
Iowa State would get back starting forward Milan Momcilovic after almost a month after suffering a hand injury in practice in early January. These two teams both rely on physicality to influence the game and implement their game plans. Iowa State has struggled in their three game slump to score with their leading scorer Curtis Jones averaging just 7.9 ppg compared to 24.2 ppg before the slump.
Iowa State just needed to play Cyclone basketball to get through today with a win, but if they intend to be the post-season threat that many thought they were, they needed to reclaim their ability to punish teams for mistakes by converting on the offensive end.
First Half – Iowa State Vs TCU
Both teams struggled to get going offensively while the officials swallowed their whistles and allowed a high level of physicality early on in the contest. While both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half, Iowa State capitalized on TCU’s nine turnovers into twelve points in the first twenty minutes. Despite struggling on offense, a made jumpshot by Trazarien White with 7:45 left in the first half put TCU within five of the cyclones, 15-20.
From here, Iowa State would go on a 22-9 run driven by Curtis Jones who had 16 first half points including back to back to back three pointers which seemed to crush any thought that the Horned Frogs had at constructing a run of their own. Iowa State was also propelled by their front court where Josh Jefferson and Dishon Jackson each scored 10 points. TCU was aided by Trazarien White who went 3-3 from the field to put up eight points off the bench in what was really the only bright spot of the first half as Iowa State shot 70% from the field and led TCU 42-24.
Second Half – Iowa State Vs TCU
The cyclones would come out of halftime with the intention to make this seemingly out of reach game much more so as forward Milan Momcilovic hit a three from the right corner putting the Cyclones up 51-28 just three and a half minutes into the second half. TCU would keep within this range for most of the second half and with a made jumper from the right wing by Vasean Allette the Horned Frogs got the lead back down to 18 with 7:57 left to play.
Iowa would flex its muscles to end the game on a 29 – 9 run driven by Jones who would finish with a game high 24 and Momcilovic who would finish with 14 on 4/7 shooting from three as Iowa State handed TCU a 30 point loss, 82-52. Iowa State ends up Not a single TCU player would reach double figures as the team would shoot just 35% from the floor and an abysmal 2/14 from three for 14%.
This game was out of reach early for the Horned Frogs who came out flat and finished flat against a Cyclones team determined to get their season back on track. Josh Jefferson would finish with a double double picking up 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points as well as being a big driver for the cyclone defense.
Conclusion and Looking ahead.
TCU will have to figure out their offense going forward as they looked seriously out of sync in this game. The Horned Frogs will face an Oklahoma State team who right now is at the bottom of the Big 12 in Fort Worth one Wednesday, February 12th. Hopefully coach Jamie Dixon and the TCU faithful can will their team to a redemptive performance as they look to keep their post season dreams alive.
Iowa State will travel to Orlando to take on the Knights of Central Florida who have struggled in their second season in the Big 12. Iowa state must focus on getting Curtis Jones going in these contests against weaker opponents to make a run against the likes of Kansas, Houston, and Texas Tech for the Big 12 title. The Cyclones take on UCF Tuesday, February 11th at 6:00 p.m. and will be available on ESPN.
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