Sunday, December 14th, 2014

Tonight I went to yet another Cyclone basketball game... an 88-78 victory over the Jaguars from Southern University.  This was actually the second game that I have seen Iowa State play vs Southern, the first being the 2012 season opener.  Southern University is a historically black college located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  Their athletics program is part of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

The Cyclones looked pretty rusty in the first half and actually trailed by 8 points midway through the first half.  This was not too surprising because I expected a bit of an emotional let-down after the big win for Iowa State just two days ago in Iowa City, 90-75.  However, by the second half Iowa State opened up a comfortable lead before coasting to only a 10-point victory.  All five Cyclone starters scored in double-figures.  They were led by Georges Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones who each scored 18 points.  Other Cyclones in double-figures included Monte Morris (15), Naz Long (13), and Dustin Hogue (10).

The most memorable part of this game was that Southern was given two free throws before the tip-off.  I had never seen that before, but I guess there was a technical foul called on Iowa State because they dunked during warm-ups.

Southern led 2-0 before the opening tip on a pair of free throws after a technical foul on Iowa State.

Iowa State won the tip-off.

Cyclones win!

Tuesday, December 9th, 2014

Tonight Elizabeth and I were able to take Nolan to his first ISU men's basketball game of the season, a 73-56 victory for Iowa State over the Kangaroos of UMKC.  The 17-point victory for Iowa State was actually a surprisingly close game; when these two teams played last year Iowa State blew them out by a score of 110-51.

This was the third time that Nolan has been to a men's basketball game.  His first time was actually against the same UMKC team last year.  His second game was the memorable 48-point performance by Melvin Ejim vs TCU last season.  The game today did not prove to be as exciting, but it was still a lot of fun to take Nolan to a game.  The seats that we had today (4th row of section 133) were definitely the best seats that I have ever had for a game at Hilton Coliseum.  We were right at mid-court and had a spectacular view. Thanks to Erick Ude for getting us the incredible seats today.  Before the game we met up for pizza at Great Plains Sauce & Dough.

Bryce Dejean-Jones was the leading scorer for Iowa State with 22 points.  The only other Cyclone to score in double figures was Monte Morris, who added 13 points.

Thursday, December 4th, 2014

Well, quite a bit has happened since my last post... Elizabeth got a new (used) car, a Chevy Traverse, and we are really enjoying it so far.  We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Iowa City last week with the GLEKS side of the family.  However, the reason I am blogging today is because of the fun basketball game I just saw with Tim Nevins.

Iowa State's men's basketball team just dominated a good Arkansas Razorback team, winning by a score of 95-77.  Iowa State never trailed in this game, and they really took it to Arkansas early.  The Cyclones lead 52-32 at halftime and never looked back.  Coming into the game, Iowa State was ranked #20 in the nation, and Arkansas was ranked #18.  This was the fourth time that I have witnessed Iowa State face off against a team when both were ranked in the top-25, and I am happy to say that Iowa State is 4-0 in those games!  The others were vs Iowa, vs Texas, and vs Oklahoma last season.

If I had to pick a player of the game today for Iowa State it would have to be Georges Niang.  He scored 26 points, dished out 8 assists, and collected 6 rebounds.  It was impressive how he was able to score in a number of ways (spinning drives to the basket, hook shots, bank shots, up & under moves, three pointers, etc).  Although a close second for player of the game was Bryce Dejean-Jones.  He tallied a game high 27 points on 8 for 8 shooting from the field and added 6 rebounds.  He had a monster dunk in transition, and he was 4 for 4 from three point range.  All five of Iowa State's starters finished scoring in double digits including Houge (14), Morris (11), and Long (10).

A view of the action from our seats in section 216.

My usual scoreboard picture... ISU 95, Arkansas 77.

Friday, November 14th, 2014

Finally, the 2014-2015 Iowa State men's basketball season is here!!  I just got back from Hilton Coliseum where I witnessed a 93-82 victory for Cyclones over the Golden Grizzlies of Oakland University.  Oakland University is located in Michigan, not California, and the Golden Grizzlies are a part of the Horizon League.  The game itself was closer than I thought it would be for most of the game, but by the midway point in the second half the Cyclones had opened up a 20 point lead.  After putting in some substitutes, Iowa State ended up winning bu only 11.  

George Niang led all scorers with a career high 30 points.  He was one of 5 Cyclones in double figures including Dustin Hogue (15),  Monte Morris (14), Naz Long (10), and newcomer Bryce Dejean-Jones who scored 20 points.  

This was the third season opening game that I have witnessed at Hilton Coliseum including last year's win vs North Carolina Wilmington and the 2012 victory vs Southern.  

Iowa State wins the opening tip-off.

Cyclones WIN!

Friday, November 7th, 2014

Well tonight I was able to enjoy watching an exhibition game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Viterbo V-Hawks.  This was the second time that I have been to an ISU exhibition game in Hilton (the other was in 2012 agains Minnesota State).  Of course the game was a complete blowout, 115 to 48, but it was still very exciting.  The Cyclones really got out and ran in transition which led to a number of entertaining dunks.  Early on in the game Daniel Edozie caught an alley-op pass with one hand and then dunked it which was pretty fun.  Six Cyclones scored in double figures... Naz Long and Sherron Dorsey-Walker each had 17 points, Niang had 12, Bryce DeJean-Jones had 13, Daniel Edozie had 14, and Kourtlin Jackson had 10 points.

Here is a link to a video with a couple of DeJean-Jones's dunks.


It was hard to take much away from this game since it was so one-sided, but the 14th ranked Cyclones really do look exciting.  They even did their damage in this game without three key players (Abdel Nader, Matt Thomas, and Jameel McKay).  I can't wait for their season opening game next Friday against Oakland!

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Tonight we were able to take Nolan to our first volleyball game of the season where we saw Iowa State defeat the Kansas Jayhawks in 5 sets (18-25, 25-16, 25-17, 21-25, 15-12).  We had to leave before the end of the match (it was past Nolan's bed time), but it was still fun to take Nolan to a game. 

In a funny coincidence, an ISU player named Nolan (Caitlin Nolan) set an ISU record and tied a Big 12 record with 43 digs.

Saturday, October 18th, 2014

Tonight Elizabeth and I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum to watch the first annual "Hilton Madness" event.  It showcased the men's & women's basketball teams as they get ready to start their seasons.  There were team introductions, unveiling of the NCAA tournament banners for each team, a 3-point contest, and a dunk contest.  Kourtlin Jackson was the winner of the dunk contest, although it seemed to me that Jameel McKay had the more exciting dunks.  Naz Long had the highest single round score in the 3-point contest (22 points in the semifinals), but he ended up losing to Brynn Williamson of the women's team in the finals.

Here was a little bit of the action that I was able to take with my cell phone:
Naz Long's first round of the 3-point contest
The ISU Men's team warming up
Jameel McKay dunks after bouncing the ball off the side of the backboard
Kourtlin Jackson's final dunk