ISU’s Matt Thomas filling vital role

KANSAS CITY — Iowa State junior Matt Thomas is well versed in what makes Oklahoma senior Buddy Hield so potent.

The transition 3-pointers, spot-up jumpers and slashes to the rim are what make Hield a lock to be a first-team All-American and, for the third time this year, Thomas is the man tasked to slow him down.

'He's just so aggressive,' Thomas said. 'Every time he touches the ball he's in attack mode.

'You really just can't relax.'

No team has found a way to truly stop Hield — he's had less than 17 points in only two of the Sooners' 30 games this season — so the objective becomes finding ways to make it hard on him. No. 19 Iowa State will see what it can do against Hield and No. 6 Oklahoma in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals at 8 p.m. Thursday.

'When you're one of the top two or three players in the country, you've got a long checklist of things you've got to do,' said Iowa State Coach Steve Prohm. 'He's terrific.'

Hield is the two-time Big 12 Player of the Year and is averaging 25.1 points per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. In the Sooners' (24-6, 12-6) two previous games against the Cyclones (21-10, 10-8), Hield's field-goal percentage is down to 39.1.

That's Thomas.

'Matt's taken a lot of pride in playing some great defense this year as far as guarding (Iowa's Jarrod) Uthoff and guarding Buddy Hield,' said Naz Mitrou-Long. 'Matt's done the best job I feel of anybody in the Big 12 of guarding him.'

The 6-foot-4, 197-pound guard didn't become a defensive stopper and consistent offensive threat overnight, or even in a year. It took hours in the gym and speed and conditioning drills. Thomas praises his lateral quickness and footwork exercises, but a lot of it came from the Onalaska, Wis., native seizing an opportunity.

Thomas averaged 5.5 and 4.9 points per game in his freshman and sophomore years, but has grown that to 10.6 points per game this season. For Thomas, it's offensive opportunity and off-season work that has given him defensive advantages.

'When Naz decided he was going to shut it down, it was the game after Iowa — which I played well in — and I went into the starting lineup,' Thomas said. 'Ever since then, I've just been playing big minutes. When you're playing big minutes like that, it's easy to be out there playing comfortable and confident and that's just what I've been doing.'

There's a lot to be said for the maturity and experience a player gains in a college career.

Thomas is a far cry from that wide-eyed freshman and has proved he's a guy who can't be ignored — as evidenced by him making three or more 3-pointers in 15 of the last 24 games. Seeing Thomas play the way he is isn't a surprise to anybody in the locker room, though.

'He is able to bring everything he does at Sukup (practice facility) — everything he's been doing that past 2 ½ or three years — and just put it into Hilton,' Mitrou-Long said. 'He's always been playing like this.'

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