The potentially short-handed No. 24 Cyclones hope to break their road game losing streak in a test against No. 19 TCU, with Iowa State looking to leave its draining past behind them.
On the verge of losing its third straight road game in conference play, Iowa State is looking to flush Tuesday’s 87-72 loss on the road to BYU and grab its first conference road win of the season. A task they will possibly have to face without the Cyclones’ star point guard, Tamin Lipsey.
As Lipsey remains day-to-day with a shoulder injury he sustained in Tuesday’s game, other members of the Cyclones have been asked to step up. Rotational pieces Curtis Jones and Jackson Paveletzke could be thrust into the starting lineup if Lipsey is unavailable against the Horned Frogs, with starting guard Keshon Gilbert also taking a larger role on the court.
No matter who is trusted with the primary ball handling, head coach T.J. Otzelberger believes in his veteran guards to step up.
“I think it is a great opportunity for other guys,” Otzelberger said. “Certainly for [Jones] and [Paveletzke] and guys that have played point guard at previous stops and throughout the course of their life to have some more of those opportunities and to step up in those capacities is going to be important.”
On top of prepping for possibly being without Lipsey, Iowa State is also focused on fixing what went wrong in its game against the Cougars, where they were fighting from behind nearly the entire game.
The Cyclones’ main focus is dictating how they want the game to be played, which starts with being more physical.
“Going against BYU we obviously got out-toughed,” Paveletzke said. “TCU is going to be another game where there is going to be a lot of physicality and it is going to come down to make shots and getting stops on defense.”
Getting back to their usual physicality will not only slow down the Horned Frogs’ offense, but the Cyclones’ ability to force turnovers this season has fueled their ability to score, which they lacked against BYU.
Not only will the Cyclones’ disruptive presence be crucial in igniting their offense, but it will also attempt to slow down TCU’s productive offense, which sits second in the Big 12 in scoring.
The Horned Frogs, who are coming off an overtime loss to Cincinnati on the road, have found multiple ways to score with multiple guards and forwards averaging over 10 points per game. They also are leading the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage against conference opponents, and are coming off a game against the Bearcats which saw 11 shots go through from outside.
“The physical play every single night is impactful,” Otzelberger said. “Defensively you are able to impose your will more and then that pushes other teams’ offense more out, and makes the degree of difficulty for the shots harder.”
Along with taking away shots from outside, Iowa State will also need to focus on scrambling back on defense on fast breaks, an area that TCU has lived off of this season.
“As they have been, and even more so right now, they are extremely effective in transition,” Otzelberger said. “They’re probably playing as well as anybody is in the league if you look at the two road games and combine those with the games at home.”
It will be a true mental test as well for the Cyclones as they deal with the combination of Lipsey’s injury concerns, the way in which they played against BYU and now having to travel again to face another top-25 opponent.
The Cyclones know what is at stake, as getting a statement win on the road would build confidence and also pose themselves as a true threat in the Big 12. Regardless of how their matchup with BYU went and the possibility of being without their top playmaker, it is time for them to focus on what they can control.
“We just got to flush the last one, that is in the past,” Milan Momcilovic said. “They are ranked, this is another big game on the road, and we need this win.”
