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Tag: defensive

  • No. 9 Iowa State turns focus to defense vs. Oklahoma State

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    (Photo credit: Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

    No. 9 Iowa State would like nothing more than to string together another long set of victories.

    The Cyclones (17-2, 4-2 Big 12 Conference) will go for back-to-back wins when they tip off against Oklahoma State (14-5, 2-4) on Saturday afternoon in Stillwater, Okla.

    Iowa State won its first 16 games of the season before enduring back-to-back road losses at Kansas and Cincinnati. The Cyclones recovered with an 87-57 home win over UCF on Tuesday night, reminding fans that it can dominate on both ends of the court.

    Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger consistently has emphasized defense as the key for his team’s success. He praised his players for limiting UCF to 57 points after allowing an average of 81.5 points in the previous two losses.

    Joshua Jefferson played a vital role in the defensive improvement, Otzelberger said. It is something he hopes to see continue when the Cyclones take on Oklahoma State.

    ‘I’d say, defensively, he had an edge to how he played,’ Otzelberger said. ‘He was really helping pressure and getting turnovers, and then for him, we’ve got to do the best job we can trying to (get into the) open court. But when he can get a dunk in transition, and he can get a finish where the whole defense isn’t loaded up, that’s going to build his confidence. I think he earned that on the defensive end.

    ‘And then he took a leadership position in terms of, we’re going to move the ball, we’re going to share the ball, we’re going to keep it on the move. And to have 12 assists and no turnovers, I mean, that’s ridiculous. Not to mention the rebounds and the points. So, I’m just proud of his ability mentally to lock in on the things that are important for us to be successful, and now we’ve just got to work together and maintain that every night out.’

    Milan Momcilovic is Iowa State’s top scorer with 18.2 points per game on 54.4 percent shooting, including 54.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Jefferson is next with 17.3 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.9 rebounds per game, and Tamin Lipsey also is scoring in double digits with 13.2 points per game.

    Oklahoma State has lost four of its past six games, including a 68-65 loss at TCU on Tuesday night. The Cowboys already played Iowa State on Jan. 10, losing 83-71 on the road, and they will look to improve upon their 1-2 record against ranked opponents.

    Anthony Roy leads Oklahoma State with 17.6 points per game. Three other players are scoring in double digits including Parsa Fallah (14.4 points per game), Vyctorius Miller (13.9) and Jaylen Curry (10.5).

    Cowboys coach Steve Lutz knows that his team is in for a challenge on its home court.

    ‘The league is so darn good, there’s going to be carnage along the way,’ Lutz said. ‘… I think last year we started off 2-7 in the league, and it was really hard to recover from that. It’s very important that we don’t repeat that performance.’

    –Field Level Media

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  • SMU brings loaded backcourt to Tarleton State opener

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    (Photo credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images)

    Andy Enfield will lean on a veteran backcourt that should rank among the nation’s best as he begins his second season at SMU.

    Enfield will lead the Mustangs into a season-opening encounter against defensive-minded Tarleton State on Monday in Dallas.

    The Mustangs (24-11, 13-7 ACC) bring back guards Boopie Miller and B.J. Edwards. The former is a preseason second team all-ACC pick who averaged 13.2 points, 5.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while the latter garnered ACC All-Defensive Team honors while also averaging 9.9 points and 3.7 assists.

    ‘Boogie and B.J. have been playing extremely well,’ Enfield told the team’s website. ‘We’ll rely on those guys for leadership and consistency because, as you know, when half your team is freshmen, freshmen are a little inconsistent at times. Our senior guards have to carry us.’

    SMU added five true freshmen to its roster along with two redshirt freshmen. Three transfers, led by 6-foot-5 senior guard Jaron Pierre Jr. from Jacksonville State and 6-9 forward Sam Walters from Michigan, also joined the squad.

    Pierre makes SMU’s backcourt even more dynamic after averaging 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists last season. The nation’s No. 4 scorer last year produced a team-high 22 points, including 3 of 6 on 3-point attempts, in the Mustangs’ 86-71 exhibition victory over Oklahoma State on Oct. 25.

    Miller finished with 20 points and eight assists and was 3-for-4 behind the arc.

    Tarleton State, coming off an injury-plagued 12-20 season and sixth-place finish in the WAC, ranked second in the nation in forcing turnovers (16.66 per game) and 11th in steals (9.4). The Texans welcome 12 newcomers to the program, including seven transfers.

    ‘This should be our best team that we’ve had at Tarleton State,’ said head coach Billy Gillispie, who has forged a 78-74 record over five seasons with the program based in Stephenville, Texas.

    ‘You never know about injuries. Hopefully what happened last year doesn’t happen again.’

    The Texans were down to five healthy scholarship players at times last season.

    Chris Mpaka, a senior forward who ranked third in the WAC in blocks (51) and 13th in rebounds (5.3 rpg), is the team’s top returnee.

    He has been joined by a pair of highly touted transfer guards in Cam McDowell, who averaged 27.3 ppg at Northwest Oklahoma State, and junior Dior Johnson, who originally signed with Pittsburgh and was ranked No. 35 in ESPN’s Top 100 as a prep. He averaged 2.9 points in limited minutes for UCF last year.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Jalon Daniels, Kansas try to solve UCF’s pass defense

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    (Photo credit: Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

    Most coaches will tell their teams something along the lines of, ‘Don’t let one opponent beat you twice,’ meaning the players should learn from the mistakes in a loss but not dwell on them to the point where they aren’t focused on the next opponent.

    Both Kansas and UCF have a chance to put that into effect on Saturday as the Jayhawks travel to Orlando.

    Kansas (3-2, 1-1 Big 12) let a late lead slip away against Cincinnati last week, watching the visiting Bearcats score with 29 seconds left to emerge with a 37-34 victory. What made it worse was that the Jayhawks grabbed the lead with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter.

    ‘Misalignments and missed assignments, really from the outset,’ coach Lance Leipold said Monday about the Jayhawks’ defensive shortcomings against Cincinnati. ‘We need to get better. I think we got tentative and got soft in some areas. We all have to own that, from the head coach on down.

    ‘(UCF coach) Scott Frost has an excellent offensive mind. He’s had some successful offenses at UCF in the past. It will be a huge challenge.’

    The Jayhawks will be trying to build on another outstanding effort from quarterback Jalon Daniels, who went 19 of 28 for 445 yards and four touchdowns vs. the Bearcats.

    Kansas has five receivers with at least 10 catches apiece this season, while running backs Leshon Williams (245 rushing yards) and Daniel Hishaw Jr. (178 rushing yards) are sharing the ground game with Daniels (214 rushing yards).

    ‘We felt we had the potential to be explosive,’ Leipold said, ‘but the thing I’m most pleased with is the amount of guys who have been contributing.’

    UCF (3-1, 0-1) took its first loss of the season on the road last week at Kansas State, falling 34-20.

    ‘We have a lot of room to get better,’ Frost said Monday. ‘And we have to keep doing it, because the games are going to get more challenging.

    ‘We have a team that can play, hopefully, with anyone on our schedule, but we have to execute well. We’ve got to have a good week of practice to make that happen.’

    UCF leads the Big 12 in pass defense (129.8 yards per game allowed) and is ranked in the upper half of the conference in scoring defense and total defense. Kansas is in the bottom half in all major defensive categories.

    Both the Jayhawks and the Knights rate among the top half of the Big 12 in scoring offense, total offense, passing offense and rushing offense.

    –Field Level Media

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