Iowa State men’s basketball team is tough, tenacious, and very good

AMES — How many points are Hilton Coliseum’s fans and acoustics worth to the Iowa State men’s basketball team?

Plenty, at least when the Cyclones are good. They’re very good.

Another question: How much are the No. 14 Cyclones worth to the 14,267 fans who were in Hilton for their 71-59 win over TCU Saturday afternoon?

Plenty, and with no qualifier.

Pick your word to describe Hilton, and it fit Saturday. A funhouse for the fans. A madhouse for the Horned Frogs. A hothouse in general.

Iowa State dissected the Frogs with in-your-face-and-other-body-parts defense that had very few breakdowns over 40 minutes and wore down a TCU offense that came here averaging 82.9 points.

Here’s a third question: How much is head coach T.J. Otzelberger worth to the Cyclones?

Plenty, if you like going to NCAA tournaments. And being tied for the fewest losses in Big 12 play on the second Saturday of February.

Iowa State got to 7-3 in the league with its second win over TCU, which has beaten current No. 5 Houston, No. 13 Baylor and No. 23 Texas Tech.

The Cyclones are headed to their third NCAA trip in their third season under Otzelberger, who inherited a 2-22 team and quickly left that mess in the past.

“The guy before (Steve Prohm) was a hell of a coach,” said Jamie Dixon, who has 483 coaching wins over 21 years at Pittsburgh and TCU. “This is not a 2-22 program. He won a couple championships.”

Yes, but this is not 2017 or 2019. This is post-free agency in college athletics, and Otzelberger is made for these times. He has worked the transfer portal to great success since his first day here.

“We’re in a whole new world,” Dixon said. “You just go pay money and go get guys. It’s a new world. (Otzelberger) is a heck of a coach in a place that’s hard to play with all kinds of resources and fans.”

Dixon wasn’t demeaning anyone, and repeated his respect for Otzelberger. Besides, all 10 players Dixon used Saturday are transfers from other Division I teams, three from the Big 12.

Two of Iowa State’s starters are actually homegrown, freshman forward Milan Momcilovic and sophomore point guard Tamin Lipsey. The latter is from Ames, “just down the street or something,” Dixon said. “That helps.”

Transfers had always carried a connotation of being less than perfect people. Disgruntled, perhaps. Selfish, maybe. Head cases, possibly. Especially before the NCAA’s 2021 rule change allowed penalty-free transfers.

Now, transfers are as common as the student sections saying unkind things to the opposing coach. Iowa State’s transfers, however, are uncommon. They are guys who embrace non-statistical things. They love to defend, and would rather sell a kidney than surrender a layup.

We aren’t talking about former blue-chippers who were stuck on the bench at Kentucky or Kansas. Robert Jones came from the University of Denver soon after Otzelberger replaced Prohm. Starting forward Tre King (15 points Saturday) is from Eastern Kentucky. Super-sub guard Curtis Jones left the University of Buffalo.

They play like people thrilled to get the chance to do what they do at the highest college level, doing the things Otzelberger requires.

“What we try to do is be honest in the recruiting process of how demanding it’s going to be in everything that we do,” Otzelberger said. “We’re not just demanding when games show up, we’re demanding in everything we do, from how they treat people, how they carry ourselves, and who they are as men.”

Oh, and they better be unselfish on offense. And defense. Bruises and floor burns are de rigueur, most of them from intense practices.

Iowa State came into this game third in the nation in steals with 11 per game. Guards Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert combined for 13 assists Saturday, and their team had assists on 20 of its 24 baskets.

Team-leader Lipsey got his second foul seven minutes into the game and sat out most of the rest of the first half. The Cyclones played on, scoring the last eight points of a 13-0 run without him for a 17-6 lead that didn’t get dented much in the duration.

Yet again, a long line of Iowa State students waited for hours outside the arena for entrance into Hilton. How much value did they feel they got from that? Plenty.

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com