Cyclones try to improve past mistakes in preparation for Texas rematch
Iowa State Head Coach Bill Fennelly meets with his team in a huddle during a timeout Jan. 3 against the Texas Longhorns in Austin, Texas.
January 21, 2021
After a close win against the University of Oklahoma in their last game, the Iowa State Cyclones will hope to improve upon that performance as they face the Texas Longhorns for the second time this season.
In their last game against the Longhorns, the Cyclones lost 59-74 and it was one of their most challenging games from a physicality stand point. The loss on Jan 3 to the Longhorns was the last time the Cyclones lost a game.
Since that loss, Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly believes they’re more prepared this time around to face Texas.
“I think we’re better [since the last time against Texas],” said Fennelly. “I honestly do think we’re better but, again, styles make fights and this is a style that we struggled with three weeks ago and we’re going to need to handle it a lot better than we did when we played in Austin.”
In relation to their last game against Oklahoma, Fennelly mentioned the fact that he may not have prepared the team well enough for their meeting against the Sooners.
“We changed our practice style leading up to the game maybe too much,” said Fennelly. “Our kids were really tired and the Big 12 has not done us any favors with our schedule. We probably aired too much on the side of resting and more mental than we should have and thats my fault, but you also have to give Oklahoma credit.”
The Cyclones are in for another tough bout against the Longhorns as they will look for a more complete performance than their last against Oklahoma.
That game saw only two Cyclones go into double figures in points and the game came down to the wire as Ashley Joens made the game winning shot to steal the win from the Sooners.
The Cyclones will have to be all in against the Longhorns if they want to compete and it seems the team is ready to bounce back from their last performance.
The Cyclones face the Longhorns on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 5 p.m. at the Hilton Coliseum where they hope to earn a win over a physical 10-3 Longhorns team. That game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 and also available to streak on ESPN+.
