After a season marked by sputters and struggles, Iowa State and visiting Kansas State will be able to relate to each other when they meet Saturday at Ames, Iowa.
Just when Kansas State (12-11, 4-7 Big 12) seems like it could be headed toward progress, it ends up taking a step back. The Wildcats opened the Big 12 season with four straight losses before knocking off ranked teams, Texas Tech and Texas, in back-to-back games.
A heart-wrenching 78-75 loss to rival Kansas on Jan. 22, when the Wildcats led by 17 points in the second half, was followed by a blowout loss to Baylor three days later.
Two victories to open this month seemed to have the Wildcats on track before another big loss at home to Baylor 75-60 on Wednesday night. Now head coach Bruce Weber’s team has to move on from the disappointment and focus on Iowa State, which is in the midst of its own struggles.
Production has been limited for the Wildcats. Nijel Pack had his second game of at least 30 points on Wednesday, finishing with 31. Mark Smith nearly had another double-double, with 17 points and eight rebounds. But no other Kansas State player had more than four points.
“We definitely take some confidence up there, but we know how hard it is to play on the road (and) Iowa State always has a great crowd,” Pack said. “We know it’s gonna be a really tough game. But we have got to come with the road dog mentality like we have done so far.”
The change of direction for Iowa State (16-8, 3-8 Big 12) has been more drastic. The Cyclones were picked last in the Big 12 preseason coaches’ poll but won their first 12 games and were ranked as high as No. 8. They finally have fallen from the polls.
The Cyclones have lost three straight games, including a 79-63 setback at West Virginia on Tuesday. Iowa State fell behind 18-5 early in the game and never climbed out of that hole.
“We’re going to get back to being the team that we were,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “There’s no fix. What we have to do is play harder, more desperate and more urgent, and not be so caught up and worrying about the offense.”
–Field Level Media
