NCAA Basketball: 10 teams primed to lose early in 2023 NCAA Tournament
By Joey Loose
Iowa State
Much like Arizona in a previous slide, the last few seasons have been fantastic in Ames since a very smart head coaching hire. TJ Otzelberger has engineered a quick turnaround for the Cyclones, a team that was abysmal before his arrival. This year’s Iowa State squad has beaten four different Top 10 teams, including #1 North Carolina, and great performances against Baylor, Kansas, and Texas.
Gabe Kalscheur has had a tremendous season while St. Bonaventure transfers Jaren Holmes and Osun Osunniyi have taken nicely to roles in the starting lineup. Caleb Grill is also averaging 10 points a game while Aljaz Kunc has been great while on the court, missing time with a finger injury this season. The offense doesn’t exactly jump off the page, but this defense continues to be elite.
After a 13-2 start, the Cyclones have won just four of their last 13 games. They do play in the Big 12, which is easily the toughest and most competitive conference in the country, but they’ve had some rough performances as well. You can excuse some of these tough outings on the road, but you can’t lose at home to Oklahoma State or get blown out at Missouri. Their offense has been particularly futile in recent weeks and they’ll need better performances than that if they want to repeat last year’s surprise Sweet Sixteen run.