Recap: Iowa State 81 Cincinnati 70
Cincinnati (15-10, 5-9 Big 12) continued to show signs of improvement but couldn't find a way to get over the hump in Saturday's 81-70 road loss at No. 10 Iowa State (20-5, 10-4 Big 12.
"We're disappointed and we thought we had our chances tonight," Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said following the game. "The defensive glass for us in the second half was a differentiator. That's very obvious. Sometimes it's not simple why you win and lose a game. There's a lot of complexities to it. This is a simpler one tonight. That was a massive difference in the game."
UC turned the ball over 11 times during the second half and were outrebounded 23-9 as Iowa State consistently turned second chance opportunities in to points and extra possessions.
" I think we're going to be frustrated with our technique (on missed assignments) and that's not to take anything away. Obviously Iowa State is terrific on the board and a terrific team," said Miller. "But I wasn't pleased from where I was sitting with some of our awareness to go clear out weak side. Shoot, we work on that every day in practice."
Overall, the Cyclones made 26-of-30 free throws and out-rebounded UC 37-19 in the win, while outscoring the Bearcats 17-2 in second chance points.
(AP Photo/ Charlie Neibergall)
Curtis Jones led the Cyclones with 22 points, making all 12 free throw attempts.
Joshua Jefferson (13 pts), Milan Momcilovic (12 pts), and Tamin Lipsey (11 pts) also reached double figure scoring. Momcilovic scored 10 of his 12 points during the second half to help the Cyclones pull away after the two teams were tied at the half.
UC forced Iowa State into 18 turnovers, but were only able to turn those miscues into 13 points. For comparison, Iowa State's pressure forced 14 UC turnovers that led to 20 points.
"We have a good defensive team but we have to be more consistent with how we're applying it," Miller said. "I don't think we were running. We weren't capitalizing on some of our loose balls, we weren't getting out and putting pressure. We talked about that in every timeout and halftime."
" They do a good job , like they're playing so much faster than a year ago, they do a good job converting turnovers. Obviously we were not as good of being able to get back when we did turn the ball over."
Overall, Iowa State made 49% of their field goal attempts, outscoring UC 30-18 in points in the paint, and 7-of-18 from deep.
(AP Photo/ Charlie Neibergall)
Jizzle James scored a game-high 25 points, making 5-of-9 from three, but only played 25 minutes due to foul trouble.
Dillon Mitchell also fouled out, scoring four points in 25 minutes.
"I thought that really affected the game," Miller said. "Jizzle and Dillon's foul trouble really affected our ability to be able to navigate the game the way we wanted from a lineup and substitution standpoint. I was a little frustrated."
Day Day Thomas struggled with his outside shot (1-of-6), but contributed 13 points on 4-of-13 shooting from the floor. Aziz Bandaogo scored 10 points as the third Bearcat to score in double figures.
Simas Lukosius scored nine points but was limited to 24 minutes after a shoulder injury forced him to the bench with 6:02 remaining in the game.
As a team, Cincinnati made 46% of their field goal attempts, 11-of-27 3-point attempts, and 9-of-11 free throws.
UC will try to get back on track Wednesday night when they travel to West Virginia for a return game against the Mountaineers. WVU won the first game between the two, 63-50, on February 2nd in Cincinnati.
Game Notes:
First Half:
14:28- Cincinnati trails 14-9 after Jizzle James and Tamin Lipsey trade trade three's on consecutive possessions. James' three gave him five points through the first segment.
11:44- Iowa State extends their lead to 21-14 on a Curtis Jones three. Dan Skillings splits a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 21-15 just prior to the under-12 media timeout. The Cyclones had made six straight field goal attempts and were 8-of-11 from the field, 3-of-4 from deep.
10:25- Baskets by Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones out of the media timeout force Miller to call a timeout with his team trailing 25-15. Iowa State is 10-of-14 from the field and have made 8 of last 9 shots from the floor.
8:25- Jizzle James scores five straight, including a three from the wing, to cut the Iowa State lead to 27-23. Including Day Day Thomas' three prior to the five straight scored by James, UC used an 8-0 run over 1:02 to cut a 12-point deficit to four to get back in the game.
6:07- Iowa State has missed four straight from the field and haven't converted a field goal in 4:37. Two Day Day Thomas free throws following a foul on Jackson cuts the ISU lead to 29-27.
4:43- Josh Reed 3-pointer cuts the ISU lead to 31-30
3:39- Brandton Chatfield converts an and-one following a foul on Skillings to give the Cyclones a 33-30 advantage at the final media timeout. Chatfield converted the free throw out of the timeout to extend the lead to 34-30.
1:34- Keshon Gilbert is called for a technical foul following an Aziz Bandaogo basket that tied the score at 34. Jizzle James makes both free throws to give the Bearcats their first lead of the game, 36-34.
0:25- Jizzle James' three pointer is matched by Curtis Jones at the other end to tie the score at 39. Day Day Thomas missed three-pointer with :39 seconds left in the half is rebounded by ISU and the Cyclones call a timeout to set up their final possession. Jones would turn the ball over allowing a James three point attempt at the buzzer but it fell short, sending both teams to the locker room tied at 39.
Second half:
15:37- Brandton Chatfield breaks a 43-43 tie with an offensive rebound and putback to give the Cyclones a two-point advantage heading in to the first media timeout of the second half. Bearcats haven't since the 17:45 mark with Jizzle James tied the score at 43 with a layup in transition.
15:06- Dillon Mitchell's breakaway windmill dunk after a Lukosius three gives the Bearcats a 48-45 advantage.
12:27- Keshon Gilbert makes a three to extend the Iowa State run to 7-0 over 1:41. UC hasn't scored in 2:39, forcing Wes Miller to call a timeout.
11:01- UC hasn't scored in 4:05 and have missed five straight from the field. Iowa State ball out of the media timeout, leading 52-48.
7:39- Jizzle James knocks down his fourth three of the game to cut the Iowa State lead to 61-56, but picks up his third foul at the other end, sending Tamin Lipsey to the line out of the media timeout. Lipsey makes both free-throws, extending the lead to 63-56.
6:21- Following a Josh Reed three that cut ISU's lead to four, Wes Miller is called for a technical foul. Curtis Jones makes both free throws, Milan Momcilovic makes a three, Tamin Lipsey get a steal and layup. Just like that, the Bearcats are down 70-59 with 6:02 remaining.
(AP Photo/ Charlie Neibergall)
4:29- Jizzle James' three pointer cuts the ISU lead to 71-65.
3:48- UC trails 73-65 with Day Day Thomas shooting two free throws out of the media timeout. Thomas makes 1-of-2 to cut the lead to 73-66.
2:56- Tamin Lipsey extends the ISU lead to 10, 76-66, on two free throws following Jizzle James' fifth foul. Joshua Jefferson gets an offensive rebound and put back on the next ISU possession to extend the lead to 78-66.
1:06- Josh Reed is called for a foul on Curtis Jones and then also called for a technical foul for slapping his hands down on the scorer's table out of frustration. ISU makes 3-of-4 free throws to extend their lead to 81-70, which would be the final score.
Postgame video: Wes Miller, Day Day Thomas / TJ Otzelberger
Final Thoughts:
The loss is disappointing but Cincinnati had their chances throughout the game to pick up a massive road win over a top-10 team. The biggest disappointment was how the Bearcats looked with defensive rebounding. Iowa State consistently got second chance points on offensive rebounds during crucial moments where it looked like UC was starting to gain momentum.
It sounds like there is some legit concern with the shoulder injury of Simas, based on what Wes Miller told Dan Hoard and Terry Nelson during the post-game show. Miller stated it was the first time in two years that Simas has been unable to physically go back into a game and that everyone should keep him in their prayers.
The biggest takeaway is that outside of a late game stretch where things snowballed in the favor of the home team, Cincinnati looked like they belonged with one of the best teams in the country. Jizzle James continued his dominant play and they will need that to continue over the final five games as they try to continue to work their way back into the bubble discussion for the NCAA Tournament.