On Saturday morning in Ames, Iowa, two Big 12 teams clashed in an exciting matchup.
T.J. Otzelberger and the Iowa State Cyclones welcomed Jamie Dixon and the TCU Horned Frogs to Hilton Coliseum for the 12th game of the Big 12 regular season. After dropping the previous three games, Iowa State returned to its elite form, blowing out TCU in a wire-to-wire win.
With that, here are the top three takeaways from Iowa State’s 82-52 win over the Horned Frogs.
Back To Normal
Iowa State Basketball got back to their usual business with in the blowout win, showing their signature hustle, effort, and intensity. The group has looked out of sync lately, and while the first 10 minutes of the game looked a little clunky, the unit eventually clicked and put their foot on the gas.
The Cyclones found production from a multitude of athletes, including Curtis Jones, Dishon Jackson, Joshua Jefferson, Keshon Gilbert, and Milan Momcilovic, who posted 11 points and two rebounds in his return from a lingering hand injury.
They play three teams below .500 in league play the next three games against UCF, Cincinnati, and Colorado.
Progress Stops
While teams like UCF, Arizona State, and even Cincinnati have been listed on the bubble at various points this season, the TCU Horned Frogs have not. Their records are even fairly similar. With the loss, TCU sits at 12-11 overall and 5-7 in league play. UCF sits at 13-9 and 4-7, Arizona State at 12-10 and 3-8, and Cincinnati at 13-9 and 3-8.
With a win in their last outing, TCU was climbing closer toward a spot on the bubble. That hard work appears to be moving in reverse, with the team falling to Iowa State by 30.
No Stars
It may be a bit unfair to say that the TCU Horned Frogs do not have a star basketball player on the court. On Saturday, that was the case, as the group lacked a true scorer or facilitator. Not one athlete reached double figures for Jamie Dixon’s squad.
TCU shot 35.8% from the field and just 14.3% from three-point range. They also committed 15 personal fouls and turned the basketball over 15 times.
Vasean Allette, Trazarien White, and Ernest Udeh got close but could not create a lasting impact on the court. Simply put, the group is too good to have that poor of a showing.
