Royce White brimming with confidence

AMES - Royce White found an offensive groove Saturday at Michigan.

Most of the Iowa State forward's teammates didn't.

White scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, but the Cyclones fell 76-66 to the No. 20 Wolverines at Ann Arbor, Mich.

“(It) definitely helped my confidence,” said White, whose team (5-3) plays host to Prairie View A&M (2-6) in Tuesday's 7 p.m. nonconference game at Hilton Coliseum.

ISU's players continue to search for cohesiveness.

Several parts - including White and guards Chris Allen, Scott Christopherson, Chris Babb and Tyrus McGee - brim with talent, but as a unit, finding a comfort zone on both sides of the floor has proved to be a challenge.

“We've got to work harder,” Christopherson said. “We've got to grind this stuff out.”

The Cyclones have lost two straight games, but Saturday trimmed a 20-point deficit to six in the closing minutes.

“We really fought all the way to the end of the game and that's something I was proud of (in) the guys,” ISU coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We picked up the pressure. We made them uncomfortable. And that's something we're going to try to do from the opening tip.”

White has been the Cyclones' most consistent player offensively, scoring in double figures in six of eight games and notching at least seven rebounds in each outing.

Saturday, he sank a season-high 10 field goals.

“The thing Royce did such a good job with last game is he made good, quick, decisive moves,” Hoiberg said. “He got into the teeth of the defense and made good plays.”

Besides more consistent defensive pressure, ISU's once-hot shooting has gone south.

The Cyclones are 10 of 45 from 3-point range (22.2 percent) in its last two losses.

They drained 44.1 percent of their shots from beyond the arc (68 of 154) in their first six games.

“We have to find our identity,” White said. “We have so many weapons, again, that it's hard to find a go-to thing or a go-to identity on offense. (Lacking that) is how you can have so many weapons and go out there and shoot 30 percent, 35 percent from the field.”