The Iowa State basketball team seemed poised to outlast the rest of the Big 12 conference this season. Iowa State however is reeling after back-to-back losses on the campaign. Following the team's latest loss to Cincinnati, Iowa State coach T. J. Otzelberger made a powerful statement.
“I know I think for our guys, learning from this opportunity, the areas that we take pride in, pressuring the ball, rebound the ball, playing in the paint, we could have been better. All three of those cornerstones that we take pride in, and we’ll get back to work on that. We know we’ll have a great crowd behind us. School’s back in session, students will be there, Hilton will be at its best. We’ll be at our best on Tuesday,” Otzelberger said, per On3.
Iowa State has now lost to Cincinnati and Kansas in back-to-back road games. Against the Bearcats on Saturday, Iowa State stumbled with 12 turnovers.
The Cyclones are now 16-2 on the season.
Iowa State allowed Cincinnati to take control of their Big 12 clash
The Cyclones coach was pleased with how his defense played to start the game against Cincinnati. As the game wore on Saturday, Otzelberger felt Iowa State started to stall.
“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 added.
The Iowa State coach wants his players to be more active when they are on defense.
“I think on our side of things, we just have to be more intentional with how we pressure the basketball. Sometimes, that doesn’t always mean go chase somebody at half-court or full court, but it does mean within the realm of the scoring area, your hand activity and pressure,” he added.
Iowa State is now 3-2 in the Big 12 following the loss. The Cyclones next play at home Tuesday against UCF. Iowa State basketball is undefeated at home this season.
