Huge emotion swing for ISU

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fred Hoiberg was honest with his team moments after Iowa State's loss to UAB in the NCAA tournament.

Rather than sugarcoat the Cyclones 60-59 loss Thursday in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Iowa State coach was blunt in saying it was probably the worst loss he's ever been involved in.

It resulted in a huge swing of emotion from just five days earlier when his team was in Kansas City cutting down the nets as Big 12 Tournament champions.

'It was an emotional three days in Kansas City,” Hoiberg said. 'Then you bounce back, and you play the first game basically of the tournament on Thursday. I'm not going to make any excuses. You've got to come out and play 40 minutes.”

The possibility of the 2014-15 Cyclones being remembered for how their season came to a crashing halt at the hands of a 14-seed in the NCAA tournament is likely. However, Hoiberg didn't want what his group had accomplished to go unnoticed.

Back-to-back Big 12 Tournament titles is a first for ISU, and the team made its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. But ending the season the first day of the round of 64 was hard for players to wrap their minds around.

'I don't think it's real,” sophomore point guard Monte Morris said Thursday. 'I'm still waiting to wake up. It's going to hit me sooner or later. It's tough with the high expectations you have for yourself and your teammates and when we come out and play like that, it's straight pitiful.”

Aspirations for a Final Four spot had been quickly dashed, but with players most likely returning next season optimism for a deeper run isn't lost.

Morris, Georges Niang, Naz Long and Jameel McKay will be back. Dustin Hogue, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Daniel Edozie are the only players whose eligibility will be exhausted, giving next year's team a wealth of experience.

Additions of transfers Hallice Cooke, Deonte Burton and Darien Williams will help replace the seniors' production. Hoiberg will likely have top-15 talent November when that team tries to put the pain of this NCAA tournament loss in the rearview mirror.

'I feel so bad for the seniors in this room, the fans that came down here,” Niang said in the locker room. 'A lot of hard work was put into this season and I feel this wasn't the way it was supposed to go. That being said, we're going to have to come back even harder next year.”

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