AMES – No. 10 Iowa State was able to come back from 21 points down to force double overtime, but rebounding troubles eventually led to its 88-85 defeat to No. 23 BYU.
Ice-cold start
Though the game ended up as an instant classic that ended in double-overtime, the majority of the game was heavily one-sided in favor of BYU. The opening moments of the game painted a picture of how the Cyclones offense would fare in the first half.
It took 4:42 for Iowa State to score its first points of the game after going 0-for-7 from the field to start the game.
However, that shot, a 2-point jumper made by senior guard Curtis Jones, actually gave the Cyclones the lead, because BYU had yet to get on the scoreboard either. It took BYU 6:25 to finally get on the scoreboard with a 3-pointer from guard Dallin Hall to cut Iowa State’s lead to 5-3.
By the under-8 media timeout, Iowa State held BYU to just 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field and 1-of-9 from 3-point range. The Cyclones also forced nine turnovers in that timeframe.
The problem? Iowa State led by just five, having only scored 17 points of its own.
The Cyclones were having a hard time getting anything to go in, as they were shooting 29.4% from the field at that point in the game.
BYU was able to get things going on the offensive end, as it made six out of its last eight attempts to end the half, including going 3-for-5 from 3-point range to finish the half with 33 points.
Iowa State, on the other hand, was not able to get things turned around.
The Cyclones went 2-for-9 from the field to end the half, resulting in 24 halftime points, tied for their third-lowest total of the season and a nine-point halftime deficit.
Iowa State came out of halftime just as poorly as it went into it. The Cyclones saw their deficit grow from nine to 21 points just under seven minutes into the second half before they finally came alive and started to crawl back.
If Iowa State could’ve stopped the bleeding even a little bit at the end of the first half or the beginning of the second half, the 21-point comeback would never have been necessary, but they were unable to do so.
“It was on us for even getting down that much, we were kinda getting bullied throughout the first, beginning of the second,” Jones said.
Iowa State wins the turnover battle
Seemingly the only thing that kept the Cyclones alive in this game was its advantage in the turnover battle.
Iowa State forced BYU into three turnovers in the first 2:30 of the game, and brought that total to eight after eight minutes. Forcing those turnovers is what helped Iowa State jump out to its early lead, but it could not sustain that success.
Starting from the under-8 media timeout of the first half, BYU turned the ball over just four times in the following 18:30 of game time.
During that time frame, the score went from 10-3 in favor of Iowa State to 54-33 in favor of BYU.
“I think that is where the game to me was more decided,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Over that 15, 16 minute stretch we put ourselves in such a tough spot.”
Then, with 12:37 left in the game, after Iowa State had opted to go with a smaller lineup on the floor, senior guard Keshon Gilbert stole a pass from BYU’s Egor Demin, which was Iowa State’s first forced turnover of the half.
The Cyclones stuck with that small lineup and it worked to great effect, as they forced 11 more turnovers in the final 12 minutes of the game.
“It was able to keep faster guys on their guys so we can disrupt and get into the basketball more, which is what allowed us to turn them over,” Otzelberger said.
Just like to start the game, Iowa State found its most success when dominating the turnover battle, as it used those turnovers to erase the 21-point deficit and send the game into overtime.
“We felt the momentum and crowd was into it,” Jones said. “We were just trying to pressure the ball as relentless as we could.”
Iowa State would ultimately end up winning the turnover battle 29-11. 29 turnovers was the most BYU had had in a game all season.
Cyclones get beat on the boards
While the small lineup helped Iowa State win the turnover battle, it did not help it win the rebounding battle.
“We turn them over more because we’re playing faster, quicker lineups and we were able to pressure the basketball,” Otzelberger said. “What you give up is a little bit about the size and physicality on the glass.
Getting beat on the glass is something that’s expected to happen when size and rebounding are sacrificed for speed and scoring like the Cyclones did, but it should never be lopsided as they let it get.
Iowa State was already getting beat 20-11 on the glass and on the scoreboard in the first half, with big men, senior center Dishon Jackson and senior forward Brandton Chatfield, getting minutes. Then, when the Cyclones opted for the smaller lineup with junior forward Joshua Jefferson as the lone big man on the court, they came all the way back to force overtime.
While that lineup was successful in bringing the Cyclones back, it might have been what cost them the game in overtime.
Iowa State was outrebounded 12-4 in both overtime periods, including an 8-0 differential on the offensive glass, with BYU’s Keba Keita grabbing five of those, finishing the game with 15 total rebounds.
“It was the offensive rebounds that just killed us, but this is probably what you get with playing four guards,” sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic said.
The Cyclones simply could not get the ball back into their possession, despite how tight of defense they were playing, which eventually led to their demise in overtime.
Ultimately, BYU held a 52-24 rebounding advantage to end the game and it’s always going to be hard for a team to win a game when it is that outmatched on the boards.
