Missed chances haunt Iowa State basketball in Sweet 16 loss to Illinois
BOSTON – Iowa State’s players changed out of their uniforms for one final time Thursday in the somber confines of its locker room at TD Garden. Then, after the tears had been shed, hugs exchanged and the reality of a season over setting in, they made their way out of the doorway.
Each player wore matching black and white outfits. Black sweatshirts and sweatpants with white Iowa State logos. Black and white Jordans on their feet.
It was a reminder of the uncompromising nature of the NCAA Tournament. It is a world of black and white.
The shot goes in or it doesn’t. You win or you lose. You advance or you go home.
Black. White.
Iowa State missed the shots it needed to make, and the Cyclones are returning to Ames after losing in the Sweet 16 to Illinois, 72-69.
“It was tough,” Iowa State point guard Tamin Lipsey said. “We kept getting it a one-possession game and just weren’t able to get the lead.
“It was tough because we were fighting, we were working for it. It’s hard to see when guys are putting in so much effort.”
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The Cyclones (29-8) will forever lament their slow start to their second Sweet 16 in three years under coach T.J. Otzelberger. They found themselves down 11-2 just 4 minutes into the game and trailed by as many as 13 in the first half as the offense struggled to get looks and make shots.
“We were a step behind at the start,” Lipsey said.
While the start of the game will no doubt linger in the Cyclones’ mind, it’ll be the chances they had in the second half that will haunt them.
Three times Iowa State had the ball down two points and was unable to find the equalizer.
“When you’re trying to battle back, there’s a mental effect that wears on you through that,” Otzelberger said. “Just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Iowa State’s first chance to tie it up was undoubtedly the most agonizing.
Trailing 51-49 with just over 9 minutes to play, Iowa State’s Tre King stole the ball from Illinois’ Marcus Domask. King found Keshon Gilbert, who had been leading Iowa State’s charge back from the brink, for a fast-break attempt.
Gilbert drove to the rim, had a clean look at the bucket – and simply missed the lay-in.
“It’s an entirely different mental challenge when you’re playing from behind as (opposed) to if you even it up,” Otzelberger said of Iowa State’s comeback attempt, “and how it affects them, how it affects us.”
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Gilbert’s miss wasn’t the only chance the Cyclones failed to convert upon.
Just a few minutes later the Cyclones twice had a chance to tie it while trailing 53-51.
First Curtis Jones, who kept Iowa State within striking distance with a strong first half, missed a jumper. Then, after a defensive stop, Lipsey turned the ball over.
Illinois scored on the ensuing possession, and the Cyclones never again had the ball with a chance to pull even or ahead.
“Our guys know we had our opportunities,” Otzelberger said. “We had our opportunities. We had it in a good spot. We could have certainly evened it up and then sort of push back on them and see how they respond.
“I do think that has an added mental effect when you’re not able to capitalize when you know you had some opportunities.”
And thus ended a season in which Iowa State, more often than not, made the most of its chances.
The Cyclones’ roster was regarded as middle-of-the-pack as the preseason pick for seventh in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches. In a year that was supposed to be something close to a reset with a five-man recruiting class and three incoming transfers from mid-majors, Iowa State delivered one of the best seasons in school history.
A runner-up regular season in the Big 12. Undefeated at home. A conference tournament championship. Another Sweet 16.
“I do feel really good about what they accomplished,” Otzelberger said, “and if there’s such a thing as pushing to your ceiling that we were pushing right there.”
The season will be celebrated for its successes. Its NCAA Tournament appearance will be remembered for what it could have been with just a little bit more.
“Too many emotions,” senior Robert Jones said. “It’s sad. I cried already. I might cry again.”
Tears blurred the eyes of Iowa State players throughout the locker room Thursday because the scoreboard told the cold, hard truth.
Illinois 72, Iowa State 69.
Right there in black and white.
“That’s part of basketball,” Lipsey said. “It’s the tough part.”
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Missed opportunities the story for Iowa State basketball in Sweet 16
