The Iowa State basketball team has done so well since T.J. Otzelberger arrived in Ames. Otzelberger has taken Iowa State to the NCAA tournament in each of his seasons as head coach. His best campaign came when he went to the Sweet 16 in 2023-24, with 29 total victories.
One of the reasons why the Cyclones have done so well has to do with their defense. Iowa State has regularly had one of the best scoring defenses in the Big 12, with Otzelberger at the helm.
This season, things are no different as the Cyclones are 21-3 overall heading into the season's final weeks. Iowa State does have a fatal flaw though, that could hurt the team's chances of winning the Big 12 this season.
Iowa State is one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the Big 12
Iowa State is just 14th in the Big 12 conference in free throw shooting, per league stats. The team is making just 67 percent of their attempts at the charity stripe. That’s not good, and even worse considering they are doing better than just two other conference teams.
As a result, Iowa State has struggled away from home this year. The team has lost all three of their games on the road, including a tough loss at Cincinnati.
In the loss to the Bearcats, Iowa State shot just 63 percent at the charity stripe. The Cyclones lost, 79-70. Iowa State missed 10 free throws in the game.
“We tried to stack up stops to start the game build our confidence and hopefully you put their’s in a challenging position. We’re able to do that and then I thought as we had some tough offensive possessions and shots and that led to them getting out and pushing and playing in transition a little bit. And then they had confidence that way and they made shots, so I think for us, we’ve got to control what we can control,” Otzelberger said after that game, per On3.
Iowa State must shoot better from the line in order to win close games down the stretch. Free throw shooting is such an important area for any college basketball team. It can mean the difference between a win and a loss. As the season nears its end, Iowa State's fate could very well be determined by how well it does at the line.
The Iowa State basketball team has a huge test on Saturday, as the team takes on Kansas. Iowa State is currently sitting in third place in the league standings, with a 8-3 Big 12 record.
