Iowa State Basketball: Ohio State pulls off the upset to end Cyclones’ season
By Chris Kern
The Iowa State Basketball team has struggled this season with inconsistent play and it showed in their opening round loss in the NCAA Tournament against Ohio State.
This Iowa State Basketball team was loaded with talent. They struggled throughout much of the season, but it seemed as if things were finally starting to click. After winning the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City they were thought of as a team that could do some damage in the NCAA Tournament.
They did not play well in this game on either end of the floor. Defensively they struggled inside as they had no answer for Kaleb Wesson and they allowed far too many offensive rebounds. On the offensive end, they weren’t much better outside of Marial Shayok‘s big day.
The Iowa State Cyclones picked a terrible day to shoot the ball this poorly as they had terrible performances from multiple key players. Senior guard Nick Weiler-Babb had a great college career, but he did not end it on a good note. He finished with just four points on 1-8 shooting and missed the game-tying three-point attempt in the final seconds. He did still make a positive impact in other areas, but they needed him scoring the basketball.
They did get good contributions from two bench players in Lindell Wigginton and Cam Lard. They aren’t your typical bench players but they’ve both struggled for much of the season. Lard hasn’t played big minutes in many games this season but he earned it today.
Shayok had a big day for the Cyclones finishing with 23 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals as he tried to carry this team to a win. He shot 9-17 from the field including 3-9 from three-point range, but people will remember the free throw he missed on the front end of the one-and-one late in the game.
For all the offensive issues they had, it was still more the struggles on the defensive end that determined the outcome of this game. This is a team that has struggled to rebound the basketball throughout the season and that was the case today as they allowed 12 offensive rebounds as they were outrebounded 38-31 overall.
This Ohio State team is so reliant on Kaleb Wesson and the Cyclones had absolutely no answer for him. He was dominant in this game as he finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He did a little bit of everything for this team and it was exactly what they needed. Five of his 12 rebounds came on the offensive end which proved to be a determining factor.
Iowa State simply had nobody big and physical enough to guard him. Cam Lard was giving it his all in doing so but his thin frame was no match for Wesson. They were able to contain him at times, but when he got the ball on the low block he was a man amongst boys.
The Cyclones have a lot of questions surrounding who will be back next season. They have the seniors, Marial Shayok and Nick Weiler-Babb who will be gone for sure, but they also have a few other guys who could consider declaring for the NBA Draft. It will be interesting to see who returns, but no matter who comes back it’s hard to see them forming a team as good as the one they had this season.
Non-tournament team's bright recruiting futures. dark. Next
It’s always tough to lose in the NCAA Tournament but is a tough pill to swallow for the Cyclones fans as they look back on the season they had. They weren’t expected to be this good in the preseason, but you immediately saw all the talent they had. It was an up and down season for Iowa State and it ended on a major down note as their season ends, in the loss to Ohio State.