*** Official #10 Illinois vs #4 IOWA STATE Game(Day) Thread ***

[Dirtguy4CY]

Lost in a typical Iowa State big moment fashion. Good year and lots to look forward to next year. Can't overcome playing that bad in the first 8 minutes offensively. Excited for the future of the program!

 

[Clonefan94]

I doubt that. UConn is repeating barring some major turn of events.

You are probably right, I’m just thinking about how things go a lot of times for teams we lose to in the tournament.

 

[cyclo120]

Tj has consistently built a sweet 16 quality roster which is incredible for what he took over. That is the max of what we have had though, so excited to see if/when he can take the next step. I feel good moving forward.

 

[ClonesTwenty1]

Illinois was a waaaaaaay better passing team than we've faced. They move the ball much more like an NBA team. I credit them for that. The same double team that worked all year didn't work on them and burned us. I think we did adjust and that's why it was a tight game.

Nobody should be shocked the #1 offense is better passing the ball than what we're used to. Just like Illinois fans shouldn't be shocked they only scored 72 instead of their typical 90.

Illinois is above and beyond better offensively than we saw all year

 

[cyclonestunners]

Maybe you didn’t notice the 8 or so minute stretch where ISU was really selective on the doubles and even played zone.

Maybe you haven't seen tj keep faith in his players even through bad times. Its what has made players (Gilbert, Milan earlier, Jaz lastbyear) able to get through their slumps.

 

[Erik4Cy]

I hope UCONN wins by 78 points. And that felt gross typing that. I won't forget what happened tonight for awhile as a fan.

Bad guys clearly won this game (Iowa State bias aside on that.)

 

[jcisuclones]

Big Rob owned their one big man, tho.

Maybe defensively, but their big owned us offensively

 

[CycloneErik]

I want that stretch with Shannon out.

3 possessions was it.

That was the time for our craziest level of intensity. They were lost for most of that stretch.

 

[NorthCyd]

Were we undersized: Yes
Did we miss some bunnies: Yes
Did you ever see them quit: No

A whole lot of lazy comments flying around in this thread.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Really!?!? No ****. But we’ve been to 4 Sweet 16s in the past decade and can’t get over the hump.

The two under TJ were completely out of the blue though. This time I feel like we’re really building.

 

[HFCS]

We struggled to rebound against Illinois. UConn would have murdered us on the boards.

The way they're playing they could kill Illinois or ISU...but it will be a sudden step up for them if they don't come out sharp.

NW and SDSU did not look impressive. UConn's overall #1 would have got them this far even with a D effort but they've been giving A effort.

 

[AuH2O]

Illinois was a waaaaaaay better passing team than we've faced. They move the ball much more like an NBA team. I credit them for that. The same double team that worked all year didn't work on them and burned us. I think we did adjust and that's why it was a tight game.

Nobody should be shocked the #1 offense is better passing the ball than what we're used to. Just like Illinois fans shouldn't be shocked they only scored 72 instead of their typical 90.

Yep. They had the perfect game plan and their passing was great. The amount of possessions they had where the would move the ball quickly without dribbling was incredible. They were clearly the more skilled team offensively.

 

[simply1]

I mean they had 36 in the first half and 36 in the second half.

 

[CycloneVet]

Honestly our bigs are very average and that’s what killed us the most imo

Well they are gone and we already have a good one coming

 

[quasistellar]

Overall we had a great season, finished second during the regular season and won the conference tournament.

To win and advance from here on out we were going to have to shoot the ball at a high clip, and we could not buy a basket most of the first half. Illinois size bothered us and forced us to over think, and we blew plenty of easy baskets that would have been the difference.

Seem like we really played very tight the first half, while Illinois came out very lose and got the ball to Shannon who just killed us. I thought on this run, we would go as far as Milan would take us, he was the wildcard, and tonight he was crap. He is one of those players that needs to hit a couple of shots early in the game and get it going, he couldn't do that tonight.
We also did a horrible job rebounding their misses and given them 2nd and 3rd chances after we would play solid defense for most of the 30 seconds.

ISU should be better next season, Illinois loses everyone worth a damn. Keep your head up and keep moving forward.

IDK if our rebounds were *that* bad. They had a TON of extremely lucky misses that bounced way back outside right to their guys.

 

[Gunnerclone]

A whole lot of lazy comments flying around in this thread.

It’s fan cope.

 

[cyclonestunners]

IMO any NIL player receiving money should have some expectations. We had at least one starter tonight that clearly didn't perform.

You win the stupidest post award! Congratulations!!

 

[HoustonClone]

Gilbert's ties it with all the momentum. Very unfortunate but I love this team. Now we sit back and see who leaves and the coaches prepare for next year.

Yes. And although I enjoy the way TJ constructs the roster, it's because it could allow us to get to THIS GAME. Which we've proven the last few visits to the Sweet 16 we cannot win. That sounds entitled, I realize, but just ONE TIME I'd love for us to break through....really break through to a Final Four. Seems so elusive.

 

[cyclone1209]

Sports are dumb. I hate that I get this emotionally invested in something I have no control over.

Give it the one hour rule. One hour to be bummed and then life is too precious to be down after that amount of time.

I'm excited for JT Rock next year, all the guards coming back. I like the incoming freshmen and the Charlotte transfer. Milan needs to hit the weight room and develop something more than the fadeaway long 2.

We'll be preseason top 25 next year. Our guards coming back are very good.

 

[Corndoc363]

If you're talking about cutting a freshman that could very well be a draft pick in a year or two you're crazy.

Tough game for Mon but I didn’t see a single set play to try to get the guy an open look at a 3. I put that on TJ