Courage

 The cake that was the basketball season was baked in November, and all we fans could do was watch and wait to learn if it would be lousy or terrible. Terrible it was.

There were some games where I was unsure of what the game plan was on offense or defense, but for many others you could see the players still trying to run their stuff and make something happen. It would have been easy to pack it in mentally after 10 games, but this bunch kept plugging away. They just couldn't figure out how to win a game down the stretch. Good teams find a way, bad teams don't.

It's unfortunate Steve didn't find more success in Ames. It's funny how often the jerks get to keep their jobs, while the good guys have to find something else to do.

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.

A Victory Of Effort

While the last three weeks have not gone the way that Cyclone fans had hoped, today's home loss to Tech was a minor victory (I'm not using the term "moral victory").

The effort was the effort that is needed on a nightly basis. Everyone seemed to be working the game plan. They were where they wanted to be with four minutes left. The better team ended up winning the game and a share of the league title. Bully for them.

Is the season a disappointment? From where we stood three weeks ago, yes. But I try to take the long-term view at moments like this. A bad effort today would have been a red flag for the long term health of the program. We may have avoided a full implosion.

Beat Baylor in Kansas City and things get interesting again. Go get 'em.

Giddy. Up.

An impressive second half in Manhattan pushed Iowa State back into the conversation for a conference title. ISU shouldn't have lost to K State back in the first week of January, but the way the Wildcats have played in the league takes that game out of "bad loss" category.

Keep winning and cross our collective fingers that the needed losses come to pass.

Hopefully the home loss to TCU won't block the Cyclones from a title. This is more fun than guessing if ISU will avoid the Wednesday game.

Adjustments

Kansas State entered Saturday's game in the top 10 for defensive efficiency- and the way they denied the drive befuddled Iowa State's offense. If adjustments were being made, they were not apparent until the second half.

It also took a full half for the Cyclones to realize that fouls were not going to be called on the defense, so you might as well get rough with the Wildcats. Rough they got, and physical defense helped get them a 7 point lead with 5 minutes to play. Had that change come in the first half, perhaps KSU never builds their 11 point half-time lead.

The last three offensive possessions were empty, and the last ten possessions resulted in only 6 points. That is sub-optimal.

But it also means they are very close. Small improvements move losses into the win column.

Reverting to the mean

The CSJ staff agreed after an entertaining dismantling of Kansas on Saturday that the true test would come Tuesday in Waco, and the collective hunch was right.

The effort was a click lower, the details just a bit off, the shots a little less smooth, a little more forced. In other words, it was the typical game after a team gets a big win and has to go on the road. It's all good when the shots are falling like Saturday, but another nut when they are not.

Reminder: Don't complain about bad calls at the end when you put yourself in position to get squeezed by a bad call. The last three minutes of offense were lousy for Iowa State, and clinched the loss.

Learn from Waco and improve.

Patience

The second half of the football season and Prohm's track record with teams improving as the season rolls along should remind everyone that patience is rewarded in Ames.

Long term, both teams are trending in the right direction. Enjoy the right despite the bumps.

The Long View

Basketball has been over nearly a month, and I'm still undecided on how to view the season.

Naz's bum hips, obviously cost the team a few games, maybe a shot at the conference title, a better seed in the NCAA's, and a run at the big banner. So it goes. You need a lot of luck with your health to win the big prizes.

Prohm was wise to let the team fail a bit doing things the old way before laying down the lay that his way was the only way. It's unfortunate that he couldn't make the old-way-failure occur sooner.

 For all of Fred's weaknesses as a coach, mostly defensively, he is clearly a master psychologist. We now have numerous examples of players who managed well under his supervision, but were head cases outside of it.

Hopefully sacrifices that were made in the interest of long term health of the program will pay off.

In a league that is this consistently good, to be a program in the top half of the league each year is to be celebrated. The Niang years may also be viewed as a period of just missing out, not getting the break they needed.

Data Points

Cyclone basketball has enough data points to confirm that a certain degree of defense is required to win ball games.

Push-shove-grab style that West Virginia plays, but it can't be Saturday-at-the-YMCA either.

I suspect the coaching staff has the advanced stats to show the offense is most efficient after a defensive stop. You have to try on both ends.

The Cyclones have shown they can beat anyone on the schedule. Playing enough defense in the last ten B12 games and things could get interesting.

Post Fred, On to Prohm

During the crazy heights of the Eustachy era, LE would often start the post-game chat with Pete Taylor with some version of "celebrate night like this, because you never know when they will end".

Hiring Fred was a giant risk, but one that came up paid out far more than it didn't. Uncountable fun games in a short period, and a lifetime of "what-ifs".

Better to have had the time with him than not. Hopefully Prohm has similar or greater success, but perhaps he won't. Winning at this level is a difficult and volatile cocktail of talent, skill and luck. If it was easy to mix everyone would be doing it.

Embrace the good times, you never know when they will end.