Saturday, March 22nd, 2025

 Today our family drove home from Milwaukee, where we travelled to watch the first round NCAA tournament game between the 3-seed Iowa State Cyclones and 14-seed Lipscomb Bisons.  I'm pleased to say that the Cyclones won in convincing fashion, 82-55!  

We drove out to Milwaukee on Thursday.  That evening we checked out Lakefront Brewery.  Elizabeth and I had to order a beer called "My Turn: Nolan", because of course we did.  It was a stout, and I thought it was very good.  Then we found a bar / arcade called Dead Bird Brewing, where the adults ordered a couple more drinks and the kids got to play games.  They even had an old TV playing movies on VHS tapes, which the kids got a kick out of.  

On Friday before the game we grabbed lunch at Milwaukee Brat House.  We arrived close to 10:50 (when the website said that it opened at 11:00).  It was a good thing we came early, because it was already open and almost full.  I ordered a German style brat, which was topped with kraut and sauteed onions.  It was very tasty.  Elizabeth was able to order a Beyond Burger, so she was happy about that.

After lunch we walked over to the game, which tipped-off at 12:30.  Lipscomb University is located in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Bisons are members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN).  Coming into the game, Tamin Lipsey was questionable, as he is dealing with a groin strain.  He was still able to start the game and play effectively, which was a relief.  The game itself was a blow-out.  Iowa State led by a score of 40-24 at halftime, and the entire second half was pretty stress-free.  Milan Momcilovic was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 20 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Curtis Jones (17), Joshua Jefferson (10), and Tamin Lipsey (10).   One fun thing about the game was that walk-on Cade Kelderman was able to score 5 points. 

Today before we headed home we stopped at Slick City, which is an indoor amusement park that has a bunch of slides and go-carts.  The kids had fun for a few hours and got to burn off some energy before the drive home.

I had always wanted to go to an Iowa State men's NCAA tournament game, so it was nice to be able to take the whole family to one.  This marked the 45th men's Iowa State basketball game that Nolan has attended, and it was the 37th game that Maxwell has attended.  We also stayed for about half of the second game of the session - between North Carolina and Mississippi.  I won't really count that game in the kids' totals.  Ole Miss ended up winning that one, and they will be Iowa State's opponent tomorrow in the round of 32.  

Nolan, Maxwell, and Elizabeth watching the game.

Here I am enjoying a couple of beers (PBR) at the Milwaukee Brat House.

GO CYCLONES!

Tuesday, March 4th, 2025

 On one hand college basketball can be exhilarating when your team wins in spectacular fashion. However, on the other hand, it can really be heartbreaking to lose a close game.  That's what happened tonight for the #10 Cyclones, who came up on the short end of the stick in double overtime against #23 BYU, 88-85.  

Originally I was not planning to take either of the boys to the game tonight, as tip-off was scheduled for 8:00 PM.  However, there is a blizzard warning for tomorrow, and the kid's school has already been cancelled.  As it happened, Nolan agreed to go to tonight's game since he will be able to sleep in tomorrow morning. 

To be honest, I was quite happy that Iowa State even had a chance to win this game at the end.  BYU played very well in the first half and led at halftime by a score of 33-24.  Things got worse for the Cyclones to start the second half, and at one point Iowa State was trailing by 21 points in the second half.  Thankfully, Iowa State was able to mount a furious comeback, which was very similar to the game against Oklahoma in 2015.  

With 9 seconds left in regulation, Joshua Jefferson made 2 free throws to tie the game and send it to the first overtime.  He also made a basket with 34 seconds left in the first overtime to put ISU up two points.  Of course BYU made a layup to tie it on their next possession.  In the second overtime Iowa State just could not make the plays to get over the hump.

I suppose that I will call Joshua Jefferson the player of the game for Iowa State.  He led the team with 19 points, and he did score some clutch points to give the Cyclones a chance at the end.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Milan Momcilovic (18), Curtis Jones (16), Tamin Lipsey (15), and Keshon Gilbert (13).  

Tonight's game was the 44th game that Nolan has attended.  The loss snaps a 19-game winning streak of games that Nolan has attended.  It was his first time watching Iowa State play BYU.  For me, this was the third time I have seen the Cyclones play the Cougars.  The previous games were Cyclone wins in 2024 and 2012.  

Here is a recap of the 2024-25 regular season games that I attended:

Wins:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Cincinnati
• TCU
• UCF
• Utah
• Baylor
• Omaha
• Jackson State
• Marquette
• UMKC
• Mississippi Valley State

Losses:

• BYU

Saturday, March 1st, 2025

 My favorite month of the year is finally here!  Besides my birthday and the warming temperatures, March also is my favorite time of the year for sports... especially the March Madness tournament.

Tonight I was able to take Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we witnessed a memorable victory for the #9 Cyclones over the #22 Arizona Wildcats, 84-67.  The atmosphere inside Hilton was really top-notch for today's game.  It was a sell-out, the crowd was all wearing yellow for the "gold rules" game, and a couple of former Cyclone greats were in attendance for the game - Tyrese Haliburton and Georges Niang!  During halftime of tonight's game they dropped a banner from the rafters in Hilton to honor Haliburton winning a gold medal with team USA during the last summer Olympics.

As for the game itself, Milan Momcilovic was the player of the game.  He led the team with 17 points, including four 3-pointers that he hit in the first half. The Cyclones would lead by as many as 24 points in the second half before Arizona made it a little more interesting towards the end.  Momcilovic was joined in double-figures scoring for the Cyclones by Tamin Lipsey (15), Curtis Jones (12), Nate Heise (12), and Brandton Chatfield (10).  

Tonight was the 43rd time that Nolan has attended a Cyclone men's basketball game.  It was his 15th conference win, and it was the third time that he has witnessed Iowa State knock off a top-25 team.  The previous top-25 teams he has seen ISU defeat were #5 Marquette earlier this season and #8 Kansas in 2023.  There are now only 5 more conference foes that Nolan needs to collect before he can say that he has seen Iowa State defeat every team in the Big 12.  That would be: Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF.  

For myself, this was the first time that I have seen the Cyclones play Arizona.  The only Big 12 teams that I have not seen Iowa State defeat are Houston and Arizona State.  

Nolan with his Clone Cone before the game.

You can see that Nolan was quite tired by the end of the game.  It was about 10:30 PM by the time the game finished.