A Little History From 88-89

**CyCy** · 02-14-2013, 02:44 PM

In 1988-89 we went 9-3 in non-conference, 6-8 in conference, 1-1 in tthe Big 8 tournament and made the NCAA (lost to UCLA). That year in conference we went 1-6 on the road (beat Colorado) , 6-1 at home. Our average margin of loss in our 6 road losses was 24 points, including an 82-127 loss at Kansas. We later beat Kansas at home. Just a little old-timer history on the way things were on the road back when.

**JJ4ISU** · 02-14-2013, 02:50 PM

That team never, as well as a few others in Johnny's era, would not have qualified for the NCAA Tournamant in today's NCAA bball world.

**Wesley** · 02-14-2013, 03:04 PM

The smaller conferences have more automatic bids and the mid majors have definitely improved so there is more competition to get in than twenty years ago.

**VeloClone** · 02-14-2013, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Wesley

The smaller conferences have more automatic bids and the mid majors have definitely improved so there is more competition to get in than twenty years ago.

There are also 4 more slots as well.

**MJ271** · 02-14-2013, 04:39 PM

But those teams also weren't even competitive on the road. At least this year, we are in the game, if not leading in the last 1 or 2 minutes

**ISUKyro** · 02-14-2013, 04:43 PM

Oh good so we sucked on the road back then too - good to know this is nothing new

**Cyclonepride** · 02-14-2013, 05:20 PM

Originally Posted by JJ4ISU

That team never, as well as a few others in Johnny's era, would not have qualified for the NCAA Tournamant in today's NCAA bball world.

That doesn't mean it wasn't a damn good team. It was just inexplicably bad on the road, and awesome at home, to a far greater extent than our current Cyclones.

**FiredUpCyclone** · 02-14-2013, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by CyCy

In 1988-89 we went 9-3 in non-conference, 6-8 in conference, 1-1 in tthe Big 8 tournament and made the NCAA (lost to UCLA). That year in conference we went 1-6 on the road (beat Colorado) , 6-1 at home. Our average margin of loss in our 6 road losses was 24 points, including an 82-127 loss at Kansas. We later beat Kansas at home. Just a little old-timer history on the way things were on the road back when.

Actually, ISU qualified for the NCAA one year with a 5 - 9 conference record. However, 4 of those conference wins were against ranked teams with two of them being against top five teams, plus we had another win against Iowa who was ranked. From Wikipedia..... "Iowa State's fortunes improved during the 1991–92 season, with the Cyclones finishing 21–13 overall (5–9 in conference play) and earning the No. 10 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones defeated No. 7 seed UNC-Charlotte in the opening round before losing 106–98 to the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the round of 32. Iowa State recorded wins over #16 Iowa, #21 Oklahoma, #2 Oklahoma State, #3 Kansas, and #13 Missouri during the regular season. Junior Justus Thigpen led the team with 16.3 points per game, while junior Ron Bayless averaged 12.6 points per game. Freshmen Julius Michalik and Fred Hoiberg averaged 13.6 and 12.1 points per game, respectively."

**CycloneErik** · 02-14-2013, 08:19 PM

Originally Posted by MJ271

But those teams also weren't even competitive on the road. At least this year, we are in the game, if not leading in the last 1 or 2 minutes

Right. We don't stink on the road now. We're very competitive, and just need to close out these games. It's nothing like what we were.

**dirtyninety** · 02-14-2013, 08:25 PM

Kidd n' Play had some high n' tight haircuts too, bro. Kicking boots. 3rd Base tried to give us the gas-face, but us down with the street rap knew that was corporate.

**PlanoClone** · 02-14-2013, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by FiredUpCyclone

The Cyclones defeated No. 7 seed UNC-Charlotte in the opening round before losing 106–98 to the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the round of 32. ."

That Kentucky game was a fun one to watch! IIRC Bayless and Thigpen were en fuego.

**dirtyninety** · 02-14-2013, 09:30 PM

Justice Thigpen had it high and tight too.

**Cyclonepride** · 02-14-2013, 10:18 PM

Originally Posted by PlanoClone

That Kentucky game was a fun one to watch! IIRC Bayless and Thigpen were en fuego.

One of the best games I've seen. At that time, it seemed like David vs Goliath

**cyclones500** · 02-14-2013, 11:26 PM

Originally Posted by FiredUpCyclone

Actually, ISU qualified for the NCAA one year with a 5 - 9 conference record. However, 4 of those conference wins were against ranked teams with two of them being against top five teams, plus we had another win against Iowa who was ranked. From Wikipedia..... "Iowa State's fortunes improved during the 1991–92 season, with the Cyclones finishing 21–13 overall (5–9 in conference play) and earning the No. 10 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones defeated No. 7 seed UNC-Charlotte in the opening round before losing 106–98 to the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the round of 32. Iowa State recorded wins over #16 Iowa, #21 Oklahoma, #2 Oklahoma State, #3 Kansas, and #13 Missouri during the regular season. Junior Justus Thigpen led the team with 16.3 points per game, while junior Ron Bayless averaged 12.6 points per game. Freshmen Julius Michalik and Fred Hoiberg averaged 13.6 and 12.1 points per game, respectively."

That's among my top-5 favorite Iowa State teams since I began following in the late-Nance era.

Iowa State pushed UK to the limit — it was the type of team that was "dangerous" enough to pull it off. I still consider '92 Kentucky the best team not to reach the Final Four in the 64-plus tournament era. (No. 2? 2000 Iowa State). (Several other teams could be argued for those positions.)