No. 2 Iowa State aims to shake free from slow starts Saturday at Cincinnati

AMES — Enough.

That’s the Iowa State men’s basketball team’s attitude toward its lackluster starts to games in Big 12 play that began as a mere talking point, but has morphed into a troubling trend.

“These slow starts can bite you in the butt later on, so we’re gonna nip that in the bud right now,” star forward Joshua Jefferson said.

That’s the plan, anyway, for a No. 2 Cyclone team (16-1, 3-1 Big 12) coming off a blowout loss at Kansas.

Next up: Saturday’s 1 p.m. matchup with defense-driven Cincinnati (9-8, 1-3) in the Queen City, where Jefferson’s — and the team’s — vow to end its string of slow starts will be put to the test.

If the Cyclones give the Bearcats confidence early, they’ll be in for a 40-minute fight. If they can “impose their will,” as head coach T.J. Otzelberger always implores them to do, that trend may finally be reversed.

“Just like we faced (at Kansas), we’re gonna expect them to be desperate, urgent, physical,” said Otzelberger, whose team has trailed by five or more points in the first half in all four of its conference games. “Doing everything they can to disrupt (standout forward) Milan (Momcilovic) — all the same things that we’re seeing, so we need to be better and more intentional from the start.”

About those starts …

ISU has trailed at the under-16 timeout in the first half in three of its four Big 12 games. Its trailed at the under-12 break in each of those games. But the Cyclones — outside of the 21-point loss at Kansas — have steadily narrowed the gap and built leads en route to double-digit wins as the games wear on.

So what explains that? A lot of things, but there are a few common denominators that frame ISU’s early-games struggles. One, opponents make a concerted effort to get in the paint offensively to stress the Cyclones’ pressure defense. Otzelberger also said his team is “predictable” on that end of the floor, which can be both good and bad, as his ISU defense’s have consistently ranked among the nation’s best according to KenPom.

“We’re pretty good at what we do, but if the other team comes out and they have scripted three or four things right away to do, that can put us in some challenging positions defensively,” said Otzelberger, whose team is currently ranked fourth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. “And through the first four league games, at least three of them, they’ve been able to capitalize and get up to a lead.”

The Cyclones have also struggled with offensive rebounding and losing turnovers early in games, but they generally improve in those areas later on.

“So I think if we do a great job commanding the ball and going to the offensive glass, our offense will be better,” Otzelberger said. “I think if were do a great defensively bringing all of our effort and execution right away, that will shore things up there.”

It’s not rocket science, but it is difficult to do as the level of competition ratchets up higher and higher and the schedule veers toward March. It’s also easily fixable as this season’s finish line remains faint on the horizon.

“It’s early, so it’s not too frustrating,” Jefferson said. “We’re gonna be able to learn from it and we’ve been playing well as a team. So we’re not panicked at all. We’re just gonna continue to fix ourselves and continue to buy into the team.”

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