Wednesday, January 01, 2020

A record setting night at Hilton

Iowa State's come-from-ahead loss to Florida A&M was a memorable night at Hilton, as it was probably the worst Iowa State basketball loss since 1950, and probably ever. That's weirdly impressive.

My dive into the Massey ratings archives brought back memories of some awful losses, but provided the data to put this loss in perspective. Florida A&M was ranked #315 before the game, a 26 point underdog. The next worst losses I could find from the road was the 1998 loss at Drake (#298), 2004 loss in Waco (#225), and a 1983 loss at Jacksonville (#220).

But a 2017 home loss to Milwaukee (#203) and a 2009 loss to South Dakota State (#231) put the magnitude of this loss in focus: it was an epically bad loss, considering they started he second half up by 12. 6:38 later the game was tied, and the Rattlers played like they were the better team. 

Sitting your talented point guard for a night shouldn't bring the offense to a stop. This is certainly a transition year, but we are far enough into the season that there has to be a Plan B.


Thumped both physically and mentally

Notre Dame exposed our Cyclones deficiencies in the same ways that Iowa, Baylor and Kansas State did: a lack of ability on the lines, and an inability to make the important plays on offense.

The progression of growing a better offensive line is easy to understand, but in Year Four they may be considered behind schedule compared to the turnarounds at other programs.

The failure on important plays and inability to score TDs after crossing the 50 has become A Problem for the offense, and must be fixed quickly or this staff will not reach their goals for the program. ISU scored zero touchdowns on six trips across the 50, while ND was only 2/7 (not including the 86 yard TD run). Score TDs rather than kick field goals and the game is interesting, rather than an emotional rout.

But complaining about a bad bowl performance beats complaining about a 3-9 team. Progress of sorts, but changes need to be made while the bottom half of the league is still in flux. Seize the moment.