Under coach T.J. Otzelberger, No. 18 Iowa State has been known for playing tough, physical defense and generating a fair amount of offense off it.
Neither of those things happened in Monday night’s season opener, leading to an 80-76 loss at Memphis’ hands in Sioux Falls, S.D. It was Iowa State’s first loss in a season opener since 2017.
Otzelberger’s squad will try to make amends Friday night when it takes on visiting Southern Mississippi in Ames.
With Tamin Lipsey, Jaquan Johnson and Jamarion Batemon forming a strong three-guard alignment, the backcourt should in theory be the Cyclones’ strength. It might be in due time but it was not against Memphis on either end of the floor.
The trio made just 4 of 24 shots from the field, with Johnson and Batemon going a combined 0 for 11. What’s more, they were beaten with regularity on the defensive end. Jayden Reid pumped in a game-high 26 points, going 12 of 14 at the foul line, and Luke Almodovar added 18.
“They were able to get out and play with more flow and pace,” Otzelberger said of Memphis. “We take a lot of pride in guarding the basketball and squaring the basketball. They were able to get to the paint, to the rim, and space us and take advantage of matchups.”
Lipsey and Johnson are above-average on-ball defenders but they also stand 6-1 and 5-11, respectively, giving opponents a chance to shoot over them. Otzelberger might use 6-5 Leon Bond III more to match up with bigger, taller foes, particularly in Big 12 games.
Another issue was foul shooting, as Iowa State made just 22 of 32.
While the Cyclones aim to rebound, Southern Mississippi looks to prove itself against a better opponent. It opened up with a walkover Monday night, blasting NAIA Tougaloo (MS) 82-35 as it ripped off 22 unanswered points early to take command.
Thirteen players found the scoring column, led by 12 points from Sun Belt Conference preseason Player of the Year Isaac Taveras. The Golden Eagles got a whopping 45 points from their bench. They also converted 22 turnovers into 26 points.
The blowout was a much-needed victory for Southern Miss after two rough exhibition games – an 82-72 home loss to LSU New Orleans and a 101-72 rout at Houston Christian.
Coach Jay Ladner made lineup changes after the Houston Christian exhibition, opting for more quickness over size. He said it helped with spacing on offense as well as the team’s defense.
“We were coming off a very poor performance in Houston. Everybody associated with our program was poor, starting with me,” Ladner said. “It was good to get that bad taste out of our mouths. We’ve got a great challenge we’re looking forward to.”
The Golden Eagles, who were picked to finish seventh in the Sun Belt’s preseason poll, won 19 games last season and reached the conference tournament semifinals before losing to Troy.
