The loss:
1) Didn't cover Southwell from 3 point line early
2) For Melvin to get a tech 2nd game in a row was stupid and poor leadership, which is unusual for him
3) Thomas and Long have got to get it together from outside. There is no consistency there at all.
4) Niang could not hit the broad side of a barn tonight.
This team just does not play well consistently away from Hilton, and that is a concern going into the NCAA.
I hope they can do better at Baylor, but it will not be easy. Especially with a short turnaround and bad weather. Might be smarter just to head south to Dallas/Waco now instead of coming back to Iowa.
But KSU ended up hitting only one more three than ISU, right? Spradling's crap shot?
The issue is having to take 6 or 7 more shots just to get there, almost all Long and Thomas misses.
Niang had a bad night, but that's going to happen. He's a matchup player -- if you have a favorable matchup, he will often score a lot of points. But there's potential there to just shut him down with some athleticism.
And, of course, free throws. Free throws, free throws, free throws, free throws. Just awful. But that isn't going to change, Naz being incredibly streaky isn't going to change, and chances are Thomas isn't going to start hitting 3-4 threes per game. So, just gotta hope on a given night you get lucky with free throws and Naz or Thomas can hit a couple without shooting 9, and Niang doesn't turn in handfuls of empty possessions. As evidenced by their record, these things all happen at once less often than not, but they aren't an anomaly anymore.