Tuesday, December 31st, 2019

Well, it is almost the new year, and I could sure use a fresh start with the ISU basketball team.  Tonight I took Maxwell with me to Hilton, where the Cyclones were upset by Florida A&M, 70-68.  Going into the game, the Cyclones were something like a 25 point favorite over the Rattlers.  The Cyclones were without their star player Tyrese Haliburton, but still they should have easily handled a team that was rated as the #324th best team in the country by KenPom, and the Rattlers were 1-9 coming into today's game.  Woof.

This was Maxwell's 13th men's basketball game that he has been to.  Unfortunately, that was an unlucky 13. 

The Cyclones were leading by 9 at halftime, 33-24.  Everything seemed to be in control, but then 10 second half turnovers, bad offense by Iowa State, and some timely shooting by the Rattlers was enough to pull off the upset.  Rasir Bolton was about the only source of offense in the game for Iowa State, as he finished with 29 points. 

I would have to say that tonight was the worst ISU basketball performance that I have seen in person.  The only other game that was close to this was 2017's season opener against Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

Sunday, December 22nd, 2019

Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclones take down the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons, 89-59.  The Mastodons are part of the Summit League, and they have a funny name... Mastodons. 

Tyrese Haliburton was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led all scorers with 22 points.  He connected on 6 three pointers, and had 6 assists.  He was joined in double figures by Solomon Young (15) and Terrence Lewis (11).  Since the students were mostly gone due to Christmas break, and the game being a blowout, it was a relatively quiet arena in the second half. 

Today marks the 19th ISU men's basketball game that I have taken Nolan to.  The previous game was also to a team with a funny name, the Kangaroos of UMKC. 

The weather today was unusually warm for being just a few days from Christmas.  When we left Hilton the temperature was 55 degrees!  Walking out of the stadium I ended up bumping into my 4th grade teacher and her family, which was fun to visit with them for a moment. 

Go STATE!

Sunday, December 8th, 2019

Today was a good day.  For starters, the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the New England Patriots.  Iowa State's Football team was invited to the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, where they will face off against Notre Dame on December 28th.  Finally, Iowa State's basketball team defeated the 16th-ranked Seton Hall Pirates, 76-66. 

I took Jeremy with me today to watch the game.  Iowa State really was cold shooting the ball to start the game, as they started 2-17 from the field.  Thankfully, a strong defensive effort kept them in the game, and the Cyclones managed to lead at halftime, 28-26.  Iowa State kept up the intensity in the second half, and made enough shots to get some separation.  The Cyclones then made their free-throws down the stretch to help seal the upset.

It's hard to pick a player of the game, as three Cyclones tied for the lead with 17 points each.  I guess that I will go with Haliburton yet again, as he did a good job running the offense, had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and he made a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Rasir Bolton (17), George Conditt (17), and Prentiss Nixon (10).  The last time I attended a basketball game where the Cyclones defeated a ranked team was against #5 Kansas last season.

Tip-off between Iowa State and Seton Hall.

Wednesday, December 4th, 2019

Tonight I took Nolan with me to watch the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Kangaroos of UMKC, 79-61.  This is actually the third time that Nolan has been to a game between the Cyclones and Kangaroos (2014 and 2013 being the previous times).  That 2013 game was actually his very first game.  As of now, Nolan has been to 18 basketball games... at least ISU men's games that is. 

Anyways, tonight's game was actually fairly close even midway through the second half.  Thankfully the Cyclones kicked it in gear towards the end of the game and pulled away for the comfortable victory.  Tyrese Haliburton I would say was the player of the game, as he scored 19 points to go along with 7 assists and 6 rebounds.  He tied with Michael Jacobson and Rasir Bolton as the scoring leaders, as they all finished with 19 points.  They were joined by George Conditt in double figures, as he added 12 points.  Nolan was pretty good about paying attention to the first half of the game, as he would cheer for the Cyclones and try to keep track of the score.  By the middle of the second half he was so sleepy that he decided to pass out though...

Here we are with a clone cone before the game.

Cyclones win!