It's not a bad article. We have been in a bit of slump....However none of this will matter when March arrives. We will be one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament. The only team I've seen that really play better than ISU at it's best is Kansas.
This. ISU just came out of a stretch where they played 8 consecutive games against teams that were either ranked or have been ranked this season (Baylor, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, K-State, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State). Iowa State went 4-4 over that stretch which realistically isn't bad at all. Now coming out of a stretch like that you could expect ISU to be a bit worn down. They played mediocre against TCU (minus Ejim), they played awful against West Virginia, and they looked much better for 30 minutes against Tech but took a 10 minute nap in the 2nd half.
I do find the article incredibly short sighted in that regard. Do you think a teams stats on offense and defense would be trending up or down after that brutal 8 game stretch?
Of course they are going to be trending down. The West Virginia loss was bad... really bad... but can you blame the Clones for looking completely out of gas? That brutal 8 game stretch took a lot out of them and then they had a quick turnaround from the TCU game on a Saturday to travel to West Virginia to face the Mountaineers on a Monday. Now they looked much better against Tech... they looked like they are getting their legs back under them now. They played a great 30 minutes against Tech getting up 18 points in the 2nd half but they probably put it on cruise control a little too early. That being said they were able to turn it on in the final 3 minutes to secure the win. Is Tech good? Not really... That being said they have been playing quite well lately and you have to give them credit for that.
I don't buy into ISU being in a slump at this point. Have they been playing their best? No, but you could see they are starting to turn the corner a bit in the Tech game.