Horrific shooting costs Iowa State against Pittsburgh in NCAA Tournament | Opinion
GREENSBORO, N.C. − Ugly. Horrific. Whatever word you choose, it's probably not strong enough in describing Iowa State's offense Friday.
To be blunt: The Cyclones shot themselves right out of the NCAA Tournament.
That inability to make shots was the main reason for the 6-seeded Cyclones’ 59-41 loss against 11-seed Pittsburgh in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Regional at Greensboro Coliseum.
You don’t win when you miss your first 12 shots, when you fall behind 20-2, and when you open the second half with similar offensive futility.
Futility? There's no other word for missing 23 of the second half’s first 25 shots – especially after playing well during the last part of the opening half.
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For the game, Iowa State made just 14 of 60 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 21 from three-point range. That bad shooting included 5 of 29 in the second half, of which 1 for 10 came from three-point range.
Thus, it was an ugly end to a solid season in which Big 12 Conference coaches predicted an eighth-place finish.
Pre-game problem: A faulty rim
Iowa State couldn’t go through its final pre-lineup shooting, because coliseum workers had its basket occupied.
The rim was crooked.
Workers fiddled with the problem, while Cyclones players watched, hands on hips, and while Pittsburgh players did their final shooting, as usual.
Once the problem was fixed, it was time to start the game.
Was it a factor in Iowa State’s being stuck 10-1 and 20-2? I doubt it, unless the tension on the rim was tampered with. The players shot before the game. The Cyclones worked out in the facility Thursday and Friday morning.
The problem early in Friday’s game was defense, more than shooting. Fouling, too, as Iowa State was whistled for three in the first 4 minutes.
The fact that Iowa State had similar shooting inaccuracy in the second half, wasn't a rim problem. It was a Cyclones problem. The more they shot, the more they missed. The more they missed, the bigger the deficit, and he only way to get back in the game is to keep shooting.
And on this day, there wasn't a solid Plan B attack.
Iowa State’s first-half comeback was a dandy
That started with Jaren Holmes’ layup with 10:25 left in the first half, Iowa State trailing 22-2. After that basket, the Cyclones’ first field goal for the game, Iowa State finally started playing defense.
The Cyclones played it so well, that Pittsburgh’s only points the remainder of a 30-23 first half in which it led, came from the line. The Panthers missed seven field goal attempts in a row the final 10:25 of the half.
Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 51st year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, and on Twitter @RandyPete