AMES — Iowa State had lost just one game after winning the rebound battle, and that trend continued Saturday. The Cyclones controlled the glass all game, which propelled them to an 81-70 victory over Cincinnati.
“There’s nothing more winning than rebounding,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “There’s nothing that translates to success more than rebounding.”
Rebounding certainly translated to success for Iowa State. The Cyclones outrebounded the Bearcats 37-19 overall and 12-5 on the offensive glass. Eight of Iowa State’s 12 offensive rebounds came in the second half, which played a large role in it pulling away in the second half.
“It’s a will and a determination,” Otzelberger said. “We talked about that at half, we challenged our guys to come out and be at their best, and fortunately they took that challenge and did a great job.”
“The defensive glass for us in the second half was a differentiator,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said. “Give [Iowa State] credit for getting to the offensive board.”
The result of those offensive rebounds: 17 second-chance points for the Cyclones, compared to just two second-chance points for Cincinnati. When a team wins the second-chance point battle by that margin while also shooting at a higher percentage, they are going to be very hard to beat.
“We put a lot of pride and emphasis on finishing plays on the glass on the defensive end and then offensively getting those second-chance points, that felt like an area where we really stood out,” Otzelberger said.
Leading the way for the Cyclones on the offensive glass was senior forward Brandton Chatfield. Offensive rebounding has become Chatfield’s calling card and he added five more on Saturday, matching the Bearcats’ total by himself.
“We just gotta keep attacking to get that extra possession and give us that extra little boost that we may need,” Chatfield said.
“Chatfield’s consistent effort and production, those are some of the most winning, biggest plays of the game and he continues to do it over and over when he’s on the board,” Otzelberger said.
Coming into the game, Chatfield ranked third on the team in offensive rebounds, trailing senior center Dishon Jackson and junior forward Joshua Jefferson by just five, despite playing significantly less minutes.
A lot of the time, offensive rebounding is an effort stat more than anything, and it’s clear that Chatfield is giving it all he has on the floor when he gets his opportunities, something that his teammates appreciate.
“[Chatfield] is an everyday guy, he’s a workhorse,” Otzelberger said. “His teammates appreciate and recognize how hard he plays, how physically he plays.”
It wasn’t just Chatfield who was putting work on the glass, though. Five Cyclones had recorded five rebounds or more, while Cincinnati did not have a single player reach the five-rebound mark. Most notably, Cincinnati’s 7-foot center Aziz Bandaogo had just three rebounds, which tied his second-lowest total of the season.
For the Cyclones, Jefferson led the team in total rebounds with seven, including two offensive rebounds and was followed by senior guard Curtis Jones and Chatfield who had six total rebounds. Guards Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert had five each.
“It’s not so simple why you lose a game,” Miller said. “There’s a lot of complexities to it. I’m not saying that’s [rebounding] the only reason, but this is a simpler one tonight. That was a massive difference in the game.”
