Cyclones’ Thomas hopes to keep shooting groove going from Texas game

AMES — Through shooting slumps, Matt Thomas has tried to find other ways to impact the game.

Namely crashing the boards.

The sophomore's offensive performance against Texas, however, is exactly what he feels comfortable doing and hopes to continue to find this season.

'I was able to knock down my first couple shots and that obviously helped,' Thomas said. 'Coach (Fred Hoiberg) ran a lot of sets for me. I got a few more opportunities than I had recently.'

Thomas scored a career-high 17 points on 4-of-6 shooting from long range, and hopes to find a way to extend that sharpness. Hoiberg said the key for Thomas to continue his productivity is to stay aggressive, starting tonight.

'He and I watch his clips after the games when maybe he should have taken a shot,' Hoiberg said. 'Then the next time down when he did pass one up, a lot of times he'll shoot it because he thought he should have shot the last one. You just have to let the games come to you.'

The explosion of offense from Thomas is coming at an opportune time for the Cyclones (20-6, 10-4), too. A win against the Baylor (20-7, 8-6) Wednesday night would move Iowa State into a tie for first place in the Big 12 with Kansas, but Hoiberg's squad will have to find a way to combat the stingy zone of Baylor with spacing.

That's where Thomas' shooting comes in.

'When Matt's out there, teams pretty much stay hugged up to him and that really helps open up the floor,' Hoiberg said. 'But for Matt's confidence, to have another game like that and go back-to-back games, that would really springboard him on toward the rest of the season.'

Junior guard Naz Long knows what it takes to stay in shooting rhythms and, along with the rest of the team, has supported Thomas through the occasional struggles. Long sees Thomas shoot lights out in practice every day, and has been in his ear to keep shooting to pull himself out of a slump.

'That's the next coming of Coach (Hoiberg),' Long said of Thomas. 'He can shoot the ball. There's no surprise when he was doing that, it was just more of a sigh of relief, like finally. Just so everybody could get a taste.'

Thomas wasn't surprised by his performance, either. Thomas made 44 3-pointers a year ago, and averaged nearly 29 points a game as a senior in high school. Now he's just looking forward to the day when shooting outbursts aren't a surprise to those outside the program.

'I've made shots before and it's just funny that it's such a big deal right now,' Thomas said. 'But I understand it and am looking forward to the day where I can go out and do my thing and it's expected of me.'