Utah Basketball On The Road For A Tough One With No. 3 Iowa State
Jan 7, 2025, 12:19 PM | Updated: 2:21 pm
Utah basketball's Gabe Madsen vs Texas Tech. PHOTO courtesy by Utah Athletics.
SALT LAKE CITY —Craig Smith and his Utah men’s basketball squad are in Ames, IA, for their third Big 12 contest of the year.
They will take on the 12-1, 2-0 No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones, who are coming off a 74-55 home-opening win over the No. 25 Baylor Bears.
Countdown to tipoff begins‼️ pic.twitter.com/vxcTT0yWhd
— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 7, 2025
The Utes are reeling after three consecutive losses, the latter two by an average of 26.5 points. Utah needs a bounce-back performance of significant magnitude if they hope to knock off the No. 3 team in the country.
Utah vs Iowa State, How To Watch, Listen
Date: Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Tip-Off: 6:00 (MST)
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Radio: ESPN 700 AM
Shawn Kenney and former Iowa Hawkeye Jess Settles will have the call for fans on ESPN+ as the Utes hope to snap their three-game losing streak.
𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗬‼️
🆚 #3 Iowa State
🏟️ Hilton Coliseum
🕰️ 6pm (MST)
📻 @ESPN700
🚘 @SiriusXM Ch. 391
📺 ESPN+
🎙️ Shawn Kenney / Jess Settles
💻 https://t.co/Xxuxx8Mt9X
📊 https://t.co/U11RKu6RKG#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/9e4UQ3iOdc— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) January 7, 2025
“Loving” the constant fight of Big 12 competition
In each of the last two losses, Utah played “good basketball” for a half. Against Baylor, Utah fell behind in the first half before playing much better ball in the second half. In Saturday’s contest with the Red Raiders, the Utes kept it close throughout the first half but fell off in the second frame.
Unfortunately, in the Big 12, victories rarely result from single-half performances. Thanks to this league’s championship pedigree, victory requires 40 minutes of high-level effort on both ends of the floor.
When asked about the mentality it takes to succeed in the Big 12, Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland summed it up rather well Saturday night.
“In this league, you’ve got to love just the constant fight of it,” Coach McCasland described. “You can’t look at (the competition) as if it’s very difficult; you’ve got to actually love the difficulty of it if you’re going to have success in this league.”
Competing in this league demands significant mental resilience. The Big 12 features numerous teams that have played in many high-stakes contests and have won their share of victories.
The competitive culture Texas Tech and Baylor possess has been cultivated over time; however, Utah currently does not possess the luxury of time. Coach Smith and his staff must expedite the development of mental toughness within their squad because they can’t afford not to.
“We don’t have a choice; we need to develop it, and we’ve got to play the guys that have it,” he said.
Utah’s frontcourt rotation is worth monitoring vs Iowa State
Even without starting forward Ezra Ausar, Utah’s frontcourt kept them in the game against Texas Tech. The four leading scorers for Utah were Zach Keller (12), Keanu Dawes (11), Jake Wahlin (10), and Caleb Lohner (9).
That production and versatility Utah has with these forwards is encouraging. With Ausar’s return for tonight’s contest, the frontcourt rotation will be interesting to monitor.
Re-incorporating Ausar’s ability and offensive production is vital for Utah’s chances at a win. However, they also need to continue to find minutes for Dawes and Keller, who add to the defensive versatility.
Getting to know the Iowa State Cyclones
Keshon Gilbert has been their most valuable player so far this season. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound starting guard leads the team in minutes played (30.2), points (16.3), and assists (5.0).
The 6th man off the bench, Curtis Jones, is also their second-leading scorer. The 6-foot-4 guard is averaging 16.2 points on 38.5% shooting from 3-point range.
Forward Josh Jefferson enhances the team’s defensive versatility. He averages nearly 2.0 steals per game, leads the team in rebounding with 8.0, and scores 11.2 points per game.
Point guard Tamin Lipsey averages over 2.0 steals per game and is one of the most disruptive defenders in the Big 12.
Iowa State excels on the defensive end, which complements its offensive approach. The Cyclones generate numerous turnovers, resulting in a league-high average of 15.3 fast break points per game. Additionally, they focus on securing shots near the basket, averaging over 41.0 points in the paint each game.
