Three Takeaways: Freshmen records, Big 12 Championship, second half struggles

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Freshman guard Lindell Wigginton waits for teammates to get open during Iowa State’s senior night game against Oklahoma State on Feb. 27 in Hilton Coliseum. The Cowboys defeated the Cyclones 80-71.

Brian Mozey
March 2, 2018

Iowa State ended its regular season on a low note, extending its losing streak to six games after an 81-60 loss to Oklahoma Friday night.

Freshman guard Lindell Wigginton took control of the game in the first half, but the Cyclones had a tough second half leading to the Sooners’ win.

Here are the takeaways from tonight’s last regular season game for Iowa State.

Wigginton and Lard take steps toward freshmen records

The freshman guard is getting closer and closer to that single-season freshman points record as he finished Friday night’s game with 20 points. That gives him a total of 498 points to end the regular season and he has at least one opportunity to add to that total next week in the Big 12 Championship.

Curtis Stinson, who played his freshman year from 2003-04, scored a total of 534 points throughout that season. This means Wigginton will need to score 36 points to tie the record and 37 points to break the record on Wednesday night.

Wigginton took charge early on in the Oklahoma game as he scored often in the first half including a massive dunk early in the game. He finished the first half with 14 points.

Along with the points, Wigginton was able to add on three rebounds, while connecting on two 3-pointers tonight to give him a total of 67 3-pointers this season.

The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, native is leading Iowa State in points per game this season and has made a statement in his freshman year as a Cyclone. Coach Steve Prohm has said he’s already impressed by Wigginton’s athleticism and IQ on the court. He’s excited to see how Wigginton can develop over the summer and be an even better guard next season for Iowa State.

Wigginton also combined with Cameron Lard tonight to be the highest scoring freshmen duo in Iowa State program history. The two have a combined 847 points and counting this season, which passed the duo of Fred Hoiberg and Julius Michalik who combined for 837 points.

It’s Big 12 Championship time

Iowa State finished the regular season with a 13-17 record overall and a 4-14 record in the Big 12 Conference. That record put the Cyclones in dead last in the conference, which means Iowa State will be playing in the second game on Wednesday, March 7.

The Cyclones’ opponent is still up in the air with several teams having the ability to finish as the seventh seed.

The seeds for the tournament will be finalized after a day full of Big 12 games on Saturday. As of now, the only seeds locked in are Kansas with the No. 1 seed and Iowa State with the No. 10 seed. Everything in between could be changed with a win or a loss tomorrow.

If the Cyclones were to win the Big 12, they would have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. That is likely the only way Iowa State would play in a postseason tournament with the record it holds this season.

Second half troubles

Oklahoma went into the half with a 39-32 lead over Iowa State, but the Sooners came out firing on all cylinders in the second half. This has been a common theme for Iowa State’s opponents throughout the last few games, which has translated to a six-game losing streak to end the regular season.

Throughout those six losses, Iowa State has trailed by nine or fewer points in four of those games at halftime. The Cyclones led by six against TCU and were tied against Kansas State going into the half.

Iowa State has never won a second half during this losing streak. In fact, the Cyclones trail their opponents 257-208 overall in the second half of the game.

The Cyclones were able to stop Trae Young from his consistent results as he scored 15 points, six assists and five rebounds. Even though Young was minimized, Oklahoma relied on Kameron McGusty who scored 18 points and went 4-for-7 from the 3-point line.

Coach Steve Prohm has consistently talked about defense and how Iowa State has to do a better job with its defensive schemes if this losing streak wants to end. That trend continued tonight against Oklahoma as the Sooners shot 40 percent from the floor in the second half.

It might be because of the small number of players on the roster for Iowa State, but Prohm needs to find a way to have an effective second half or it might be one-and-done in Kansas City, Missouri, on Wednesday night.