Cyclones fall to Oklahoma State, 64-56

Yuck. We’ve seen Iowa State this bad on the road, but this was by far their worst performance at home. Oklahoma State out Cyclone’d the Cyclones.

The Pokes were more physical, better defensively, and played way better down the stretch. Iowa State even look uninspired at times on defense, which is the opposite of what this team has hung their hat on all season.

Another critical flaw in the cyclones game, free throws. Iowa State shot under 50% from the charity stripe as a TEAM, 9-19. On top of that, Caleb Grill missed two consecutive 1-and-1’s. A possible 4 points turning to 0.

Speaking of, Caleb Grill, what are we doing? A couple of head-scratching fouls, and he let his emotions get the best of him. This is a team that has been so calm on the court, and from what I saw on the sidelines, Otz wants it to stay that way. Grill finished with more fouls than points, shooting 1-5 from the field.

Lipsey and Kunc are about the only bright spots in the game tonight. Kunc was a disruptor all game, drawing offensive fouls and keeping plays alive. Kunc finished with 13 points and a pair of threes.

Lipsey seemed like the only player that wanted to takeover the game, which isn’t who he is built to be. That needs to be Holmes or Kalscheur, or maybe we just don’t really have that guy on the team this year.

An unaffordable loss in the arms race atop the Big 12. Texas, Baylor, and Kansas all picked up wins today, the Cyclones didn’t.

Iowa State has some things to figure out, or it could be a slippery slide to the bottom half of the Big 12.

Cyclones pick things back up on Wednesday in Hilton, they take on a skidding TCU at 8pm Wednesday on ESPNU.