AMES-The first thing I will note is that Iowa state basketball did a lot to love offensively in its 81-70 victory against Cincinnati.
The 10thth-The cyclones made 39% of their 3 points, pulled just under 50% of the soil for the match (after having fired 59% in the first half) and made 26 out of 30 (86.7%) of their free throws.
More importantly, the offensive of the state of the Iowa continued the ascending trajectory which it has appreciated since Milan Momcilovic Back of an injury.
The victory of Saturday is three lines for the cyclones, which were revealed earlier during the day by the NCAA tournament selection committee as ninth team of the country. This makes it the seeded n ° 3 on the field with just over a month before the selection on Sunday.
Things for cyclones are good.
But while I was looking at their victory over the bearcates taking place, I couldn’t help but be concerned about what was not so good. Because we have seen the same version of Pas so good with an increasing frequency in recent times.
The state of Iowa returns the ball at an uncomfortable pace.
“We were certainly able to clean this,” said Curtis Jones about the 18 reversals of his team against Cincinnati.
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And before accusing me of nitpicking after a high performance in a victory, let me plead guilty from the start. I’m going. Take me to Hot Take Prison.
What I would say, however, is that, as we can almost taste the shamrock shakes and start to hope for days at 70 degrees in Kansas City is mid-February. It is the start of the rounding in the form that defines the seasons and prepares teams for which and who they will be at the arrival of Mars.
Currently, in the Homestretch crucible of a conference calendar, it is when the teams arrive in the first weekend of April are beginning to take shape.
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The state of Iowa is undoubtedly one of the teams with the best chances of the country to arrive so far, and when this is the case, you are put under the microscope. You are noted on an often cruel curve. You are frankly triggered.
The reality for what is by far the best offensive team of the state of the Iowa has had under the coach Tj Otzelberger is that they give too much the ball to the other team.
Cyclones make it on 18.3% of their goods during the Big 12 game, which ranks 11th in the league. Essentially, for five times, the iowa state has the ball, they give it once.
Against the bearcates, the state of Iowa had 18 reversals, which was a summit of 26.1% of their property. Against TCU last weekend, it was 22.5%. The previous Saturday at home against the state of Kansas? It was 25%.
So what gives?
“You can’t be surprised too much,” said Otzelberger. “Sometimes we try to be almost stubborn:” Hey, this guy maintains me a little so I will try to force him through his body and call him the referee.
“Please that if you have just taken these six or seven pieces (against Cincinnati), we would be in a much better position. This is something that we will continue to approach the film because we cannot have a stubbornness where it was as if we were trying to force an official to make a call.
“We have to be ready to be mentally difficult at the time to move basketball and go to the next game.”
It seems that the root of the problem, at least as Otzelberger the diagnosis, is the movement of the ball. When cyclones swing and share the ball, they keep it. When he sticks and possession becomes a dribbling competition, opponents are good likely to take it in the other direction.
I can’t help but notice that when the Iowa State rotation rate accelerated, its assistance rate has dropped. Cyclones are currently ranking 15th In the Big 12, play in an assistance rate with only 46.8% of their buckets to come via aid.
If you are more, probably, the assistance rate increases and the rotation rate drops.
Now, this next one is probably an unfair comparison, but as I already head to Hot Take Prison, I could also set up the issues and risk a stay in the penitentiary of pessimism in addition.
What the rolling problems of this team remind me is that the problems of the 2022-23 team marking basketball. The problem of this group was not as long as it was badly offensive, even if it was. The problem was that you saw enough painful offensive throughout the season so that you knew that a really horrible offensive night has always been a possible result.
Sometimes this team could be quite offensive, and it was generally quite average. But you knew after having seen them difficulty breaking 50 points enough for the possibility that the background falls on the table each time.
Then they went to score 41 in an NCAA tournament match.
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I don’t have this kind of fears for this group, which is really an excellent offensive team with the ability to be elite. What worries me, however, is that this turnover problem could occur at the worst absolute moment and prove fatal.
If you are going to consider the most likely scenario of a first onion for this Iowa state team in the NCAA tournament, this probably involves turnover, right?
Sometimes the turnover does not spend Doom for cyclones. Look at what they did against the bearcates. And taking care of the ball does not make the invulnerable of the Iowa State. They returned only 11% of their property against Kansas, but have still scored only 0.84 points per possession and lost by 17.
The fact is that when you take summits, cyclones are, mitigating the risk is sometimes the greatest advantage. In addition, each turnover eliminated is an attempted shooting for Jones, Keshon Gilbert and Joshua Jefferson, who are good enough to put the ball in the basket.
The Iowa State is a very good offensive team, and the improvement of cyclones for this purpose is the reason why this program has gone from a cute history to the formidable national.
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Very good offensive teams can make the Final Four, absolutely. The major offensive teams, however, have a better chance.
With just a slightly better turnover rate, this Iowa State team can absolutely be a large offensive team.
The columnist for the state of Iowa, Travis Hines, has covered cyclones for the register of monks and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him to thines@amestrib.com Or (515) 284-8000. FSollow Hui on X at @ Travishines21.
This article originally appeared in the register of monks: Iowa state basketball: What to do with cyclone turnover problems?
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