What Georgia State Can Learn From Their 81-58 Loss To Iowa State
Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
In one of the bigger out-of-conference games taking place on Monday night, the Iowa State Cyclones beat the Georgia State Panthers by a final score of 81-58 in Ames, Iowa. During the game, most people’s eyes were feasting on the Panthers’ R.J. Hunter and the Cyclones’ Georges Niang, but it was Naz Long and Monte Morris who came up big for the home team.
Leading the way for the Cyclones was Morris, who scored a team-high 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Naz Long gave the Panthers trouble all night long, knocking down five of his 12 three-point attempts. He ended up with 17 points, all of which came from the perimeter except for one of his six makes on the night.
The Panthers lost due in large part to their lack of aggressiveness. They settled far too often for shots and failed to get to the rim at a consistent rate. The Panthers made 25 field goals on the night, but only 13 of them were assisted. Instead of making the extra passes, they forced their way out of their offense, leading to bad attempts early in the shot clock. They only attempted five free throws all night long. Meanwhile, the Cyclones nearly quadrupled that number, knocking down 15 of their 19 attempts. R.J. Hunter and Ryan Harrow combined to shoot 14-for-42 from the field for an abysmal 33 percent from the floor.
With that in mind, Fred Hoiberg and the Cyclones deserve a lot of the credit for how they approached the game. Their game plan for taking the Panthers’ leading scorers, Hunter and Harrow, out of their groove worked like a charm. Without Hunter and Harrow playing like their normal selves, it had a trickle down effect on the rest of the team. Last year, the Panthers were 35th in the country in scoring at 78 points per game. Iowa State was able to hold them to 58 points on Monday.
On this particular night, the Cyclones were firing on all cylinders. Bryce Dejean-Jones took R.J. Hunter out for most of the game and finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, and two steals. Monte Morris and Dustin Hogue combined for 34 points on 72 percent shooting, and while Georges Niang struggled to put up points, his help side defense on the Panther’s guards was exceptional.
For the Panthers, it was a painful loss but a good test, nonetheless. A potential upset was on the cards on Monday night, but it wound up being a kind reminder that they have a long way to go to match last year’s success. They will be challenged defensively all year long, in and out of conference. What they do best is score, and on nights like these, when their studs can’t get it going, they are going to have a tough time pulling off wins. Their deficit grew quickly in the second half against the Cyclones and they relied far too heavily on isolation basketball instead of letting their offense flow. A lot of that falls on the shoulders of their leader, Ryan Harrow, who was cold for most of the night. He needs to find ways of impacting the game in other ways when his shots aren’t falling.
Iowa State takes on Alabama on November 24th and Georgia State has Colorado State up next on November 21st. While Iowa State is more than likely NCAA Tournament bound, Georgia State is hoping to follow suit. A trip to the dance would be the icing on the cake.