PREVIEW: LSU vs Iowa State 3/18 6:20pm TBS Milwaukee

Well, baws, here we are. It's been a long season. There has been negativity on this board all year, it's absolutely drained many people including myself from enjoying much of the season. Just when it feels like we may turn a corner...our coach is gone. tPear...tGeneral...our 3-mile running, odd shaped leader is no more. I won't get into all the details that have been plaguing this board, right or wrong or could have done something different blah blah blah...he's gone. The focus turns now to the players.

Our players have earned the right to play. And seeing how we've been through this before, I'm expecting us to come out and play hard. Xavier Pinson, Darius Days, Tari Eason...Hell, the entire team is auditioning for their next stop (because everyone is leaving). Getting a 6 seed seed is honestly a great seed because it's very doable to make a run from middle of the bracket.

Let's get into Iowa State

Players To Watch:

SR G Izaiah Brockington 6'4 196 - Brockington is a 4th year player who started at St Bonny, transferred to Penn State for 2 years, found his way to Iowa State. Brockington is by far...BY FAR Iowa State's biggest threat. He averages 17.2ppg, 7.1rpg, 46% FG%, 37.6% 3P%. Definition of a scoring guard. He gets to the line often, averaging 4 attempts per game, but averages a little less than 3 attempts per game from 3-point and. He very much wants to attack the basket and get his points that way. Capable shooter though.

FR G Tyrese Hunter 6'0 178 - Hunter is the 2nd leading scorer for the Cyclones at 10.8ppg. He also averages 4.9apg which is top 50 in the country. He's average 3.7 3 attempts per game, but only shoots 24.8% from 3. His FG% overall is 38.9%. His biggest downfall, and something to watch, is he averages 3.3 turnovers per game. I know LSU fans think Pinson and Gaines are turnover machines...both of those guys average less turnovers than Hunter. Hunter is small, but fast and fierce. Plays with tons of energy, gets a good bit of rebounds, and is tenacious on D. Averages 1.9 steals per game.

SR G Gabe Kalscheur 6'4 198 - Kalscheur was a 3-year starter at Minnesota before transferring to ISU. Averages 9.3ppg, but his shooting numbers are downright atrocious. For his career, he's been a 3-point specialist. As a Freshman, he averaged 41% from 3...now he's shooting 24% while attempting almost 5 per game. Overall, he's shooting 35.7% from FG. Good defender like most of the ISU players, but he's supposed to be one of their better shooters. He's a guy that if he gets hot he can turn it on.

JR G Caleb Grill 6'3 198 - Grill started at ISU, transferred to UNLV, came back to ISU, 6.5ppg, 41% FG%, 36.8% from 3. Grill averages 5.6 FGA's per game...4.5 of them are from 3. He's there to shoot. Doesn't do a lot else for the Cyclones, but he can hit open shots. He's only attempted 16 FT's on the entire season despite averaging 24 minutes per game. He's their leading scorer off the bench.

SR F Aljaz Kunc 6'8 215 - Serbian born, spent 3 years at Washington State before transferring to ISU this season. Started the season off the bench, started the last few games and I expect him to start vs LSU. Averages 6.2ppg, 3.9rpg, 43% FG%, and 39.8% 3P%. Kunc is a stretch 4. He does not want to be down low. He wants to stand and shoot.

SR F George Conditt IV 6'9 234 - A rare 4 year player at one school. Conditt averages 5ppg, 3.5rpg, 67.8% FG%. Conditt gives the Cyclones a physical presence they lack. He knows his role, is an elder statesman that makes the right plays. Not and outside threat at all, in 4 years has attempted 0 3's. Averages 18.7 minutes per game.

JR 6'8 220 Tristan Enaruna 6'8 220 - A transfer from Kansas (not sure how he went there), 4.7ppg, 3.0rpg. Started most the year but lately has come off the bench. It wouldn't shock me if he started to face Efton early in the game.

JR G Tre Jack 6'0 185 - 4.1ppg, complete 3-point specialist. Jackson has 92 shots on the season...67 are from 3. He's attempted 2 FT's all season. Is shooting 37.3% from 3, so he's a pretty good shooter. His minutes are all over the place. Some games he plays 20, some games he plays 4. I'm guessing players being hot and foul trouble will dictate how much he plays vs LSU.

JR F Robert Jones 6'9 245 - Transfer from Denver. Started some games this season, much like Jackson his minutes are dictated upon matchups and fouls. Averaging 2.9ppg, 2.3rpg

Iowa State Notable Results:

Iowa State started 12-0 and reached top 10 status. They defeated ranked Xavier, defeated Memphis on the road, defeated Creighton on the road, defeated Iowa at home. To start the season, Iowa State had some really really nice wins. Looking back, early season results do not mean a ton. Many teams are figuring out things, and Iowa State is an upperclassmen team, they came out hot.

Once conference started, things changed drastically. They had some good games in which they lost by 1 to Kansas, beat Texas Tech, gave Baylor all they could handle, beat Texas.

But...in their last 10 games, they've lost to @Texas by 22, @WVU by 16, Oklahoma State by 17 (they only scored 36), Texas Tech by 29 in Big 12 tourney.

At only 7-11 in the conference, most of their wins come against the bottom of the conference.

Iowa State Stats(National Rank)
Offensive

PPG: 66.5 (272nd)
FG%: 43.9% (161st)
2P%: 50.9% (128th)
3P%: 32.1% (253rd)
FT%: 68.4% (289th)
APG: 14.7 (48th)
TOPG: 13.8 (286th)
ORPG: 7.8 (227th)
OR %: 25.8% (183rd)
% of Points from 2: 53.5% (104th)
% of Points from 3: 30.3% (207th)
% of Points from FT: 16.2% (272nd)
Possessions Per Game: 69.2 (228th)
Offensive Efficiency: .961 (258th)

Defensive

PPG: 63.0 (23rd)
FG%: 42.8% (139th)
2P%: 50.7% (220th)
3P%: 29.6% (18th)
BPG: 3.1 (182nd)
SPG: 8.4 (25th)
Turnovers Forced: 16.6 (11th)
Opponent ORPG: 7.8 (120th)
Opponent OR%: 26.9% (212th)
DRPG: 21.2 (329th)
DR%: 73.1% (212th)
% of Points from 2: 51.7% (214th)
% of Points from 3: 27.1% (49th)
Defensive Efficiency: .911 (18th)