Trouble from deep and at the charity stripe cost the out-of-sync Cyclones against Virginia Tech, dropping their first game of the season in the semi-finals of the ESPN Events Invitational.
Iowa State used up all of its second-half heroics in its win on Thursday against VCU, resulting in a 71-62 loss to the Hokies Friday. The Cyclones failed to get their offense going consistently throughout the game, and because of the hole they dug in the first half could not pull off another comeback in Orlando.
Iowa State’s loss to the Hokies puts them on the consolation side of the EEI, where they will face No. 12 Texas A&M on Sunday.
Defense falls apart, leading to deficit
Iowa State found themselves down 10 at the end of the first half, largely in part due to gaps in its usually tight and minimal opportunistic defense.
The Cyclones’ traditionally strong defense was absent in the first half against Virginia Tech, which got them into an unfavorable situation early on. At first, Iowa State was going shot-for-shot with the Hokies, but as the defense began to fade, Virginia Tech jumped on its opportunity to take the lead.
Iowa State failed to take away the outside shot from the Hokies, especially early on in possessions and on second-chance opportunities and gave up eight threes in the first half. The guard duo of Hunter Cattoor and Sean Pedulla combined for 18 first-half points including five threes between the two of them.
Whether it was in zone or man-to-man defense, the Cyclones could not get in rhythm on the defensive side.
Even when Iowa State did force a turnover, which they did eight times through the first 20 minutes, they failed to execute on those opportunities. The Cyclones ended the first half with seven points off of turnovers.
Another unusual sighting for Iowa State defensively was its lack of success off the glass. They were outrebounded 19-14 in the first half and allowed eight second-chance points.
Failure to find rhythm mid-game despite spark
Throughout the game, Iowa State was unsuccessful in settling into its offense.
When the Cyclones tried to run plays and get the ball moving, Virginia Tech stuck to them defensively and halted any rhythm that Iowa State desperately tried to get going once the team fell behind. The Cyclones ended the first half shooting 40.7 % from the field, but never consistently saw shots go through.
Freshman forward Milan Momcilovic was the bright spot throughout the first half for the Cyclones and finished the half with 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting in his 17 minutes played.
Iowa State’s out-of-sync offense dripped into most of the second half. Even when the Cyclones took the ball away and the Hokies sagged off in the half-court defensively, the Cyclones failed to push the pace consistently through the second half.
The best chance that the Cyclones had in the second half to take control was when they played complimentary basketball for about four minutes of game time.
Down eight with 12 minutes to go in the game, Iowa State held the Hokies scoreless for the next four minutes and went on a six-point run where it looked like they were in the middle of turning things around.
Virginia Tech followed it up with a six-point run of its own with six minutes left, and the momentum back in its favor.
Although the Cyclones went on to cut the deficit back to two due to an and-one drive by Tamin Lipsey and a Curtis Jones three, they shot 2-for-8 through the final four minutes to end their undefeated start to the season.
Iowa State finished the game shooting an even 42% from the field and 23.8% from three with five makes from behind the arc on 21 attempts.
Free throws and missed threes haunt Iowa State
In what has usually worked for them to start the season, the Cyclones continued to force the ball into the paint in hopes of drawing fouls and getting to the line. The problem was against the Hokies, Iowa State struggled all night at the line and finished the game shooting 15-for-26, and on the other side saw Virginia Tech connect on 20 of its 23 attempts.
Keshon Gilbert, who has pushed the ball into the paint consistently resulting in drawn fouls, accounted for five of the Cyclones’ 11 misses at the line against Virginia Tech.
After being half of the duo that saved Iowa State on Thursday against VCU, the UNLV transfer could not get his offense going throughout the game and finished with three points in 30 minutes.
Gilbert was not the only Cyclone who struggled to find his groove offensively. Fellow transfer Jones went 1-for-7 from outside, continuing his cold start in an Iowa State jersey.
