Tuesday, January 17th, 2023

 I am very happy tonight that I was able to take Maxwell to an exciting basketball game, in which the #12 Cyclones defeated the #7 Texas Longhorns, 78-67.   This game was a sell-out, and it was a "white out", as everyone was encouraged to wear white.  The crowd was very loud and feisty all night, especially towards Tyrese Hunter, who had transferred from ISU to Texas in the off season.

This was the 22nd basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to, and this was the first time that he has witnessed Iowa State defeat Texas.  I believe that the #7 ranking for Texas marks the highest ranked win that Maxwell has seen. As far as conference games go, Maxwell has also watched ISU defeat Kansas State in 2020, West Virginia in 2018, TCU in 2017, and Baylor in 2017.  One of my goals is to take Maxwell to a victory against every Big 12 team.  So he only has Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech left.  

For myself, today's game was the 9th time that I have attended an ISU/Texas man's basketball game, and it was the 8th win!  Iowa State also came out on top in 2020, 2017, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2004. The lone victory for Texas was in 2018.  

As for tonight's game, Jaren Holmes was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he had a game-high 21 points.  Holmes was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Caleb Grill (17), Gabe Kalscheur (16), and Osun Osunniyi (11).  

Way to go Cyclones!!

  

Saturday, December 31st, 2022

 Well, 2022 was a pretty fun year I would say.  In February we took the family to Orlando, where we enjoyed a week at Universal Studios.  In June, Elizabeth and I enjoyed an adventure in Europe, where we spent time in Belgium and the Netherlands.  Of course, I always enjoy the ISU sports season, which is why I am blogging today...

Eben came down to today's game with me, and we witnessed the Cyclones convincing 77-62 triumph over the #12 ranked Baylor Bears! It had been quite a while since dad has come down to a basketball game with me.  The previous game was ISU's victory over TCU in 2020.  I haven't exactly kept track of the conference basketball games that Eben has attended with me as closely as I have tracked my kids' games.  I know that dad has also seen wins against Kansas in 2019, Texas in 2017, and Texas Tech in 2016 and 2015. 

As for today's game, Gabe Kalscheur was the player of the game, as he led the team with 23 points and connected on 5 threes.  He was joined in double-figures scoring by Caleb Grill (18) and Jaren Holmes (10).  Today's game was a sell-out, and it got pretty loud in the second half when ISU started to put the game away.  

This was the seventh time that I have seen ISU play Baylor in basketball, and it was the 4th win.  Iowa State was also victorious in 2018, 2017, and in 2013.  The Bears ended up winning in 2022, 2019, and 2015.  

Go Cyclones!!

Sunday, December 18th, 2022

 We are now down to 7 days until Christmas!

Today I was able to take Maxwell over to Hilton, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Broncos of Western Michigan, 73-57.  This marks the 21st time that I have taken Maxwell to a men's basketball game.  This was the third game that Maxwell has been to so far this year (Milwaukee and North Carolina A&T were the others). Western Michigan is a university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and they compete in the MAC (Mid-American Conference).  

As for the game, it is worth noting that this was the first game that Tre King was eligible to play as a Cyclone.  King transferred from Georgetown during the middle of last year, so he had to sit out the first semester this year.  I would say that Caleb Grill was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 14 points.  Grill was joined in double-figures scoring by Tre King (11), Gabe Kalscheur (11), Jaren Holmes (10), and Robert Jones (10).  

Iowa State 73, Western Michigan 57.  

Sunday, December 4th, 2022

 Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclones defeat the St. John's Red Storm, 71-60.  St. John's plays in the Big East Conference, and today's game was part of the Big 12 / Big East Challenge.

The Cyclones never trailed in the game, as they got out to a 22-5 lead with about 8 and a half minutes left to play in the first half.  St. John's actually did not make a field goal for the first 10 minutes of the game!  Coming into the game today, Iowa State was ranked #23 in the country.  St. John's was not ranked, but they were undefeated at 8-0 before today.  

I would say that Caleb Grill was the player of the game for ISU.  He only scored 7 points, but he added 10 rebounds and 5 steals, and he played 34 minutes of solid defense for the Cyclones.  The double-figure scorers for ISU were Jaren Holmes (14), Aljaz Kunc (12), and Robert Jones (11).  

Today was the 28th time that Nolan has been to a men's basketball game.  

I had to make a lovely edit to this picture, because the scoreboard lights did not show in the original picture.  

Wednesday, November 30th, 2022

 Iowa State 63, North Dakota 44

Tonight I went by myself to Hilton, where I watched the Cyclones take down the Fighting Sioux Hawks of North Dakota.  North Dakota is a member of the Summit League in basketball, and they are located in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

The first half of the game displayed some rather uninspiring basketball by the Cyclones, as they only led by a score of 26-24 at halftime.  The Cyclones did find their shooting touch in the second half, and that was largely due to Caleb Grill, who connected on 4/5 three-pointers and led all scorers with 16 points.  Grill was joined in double figures scoring by Tamin Lipsey (11) and Robert Jones (10).  I enjoyed watching Lipsey finally break into double figures scoring, as he has not been much of an offensive threat thus far this year.  

Sunday, November 20th, 2022

 Tonight I brought Maxwell over the Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Cyclones defeat the Panthers of UW-Milwaukee, 68-53.  Iowa State came out tonight with great defensive intensity, and they ended up forcing 27 Panther turnovers.  Jaren Holmes was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 19 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Caleb Grill (11), Aljaz Kunc (10), and Robert Jones (10).  UW-Milwaukee is a member of the Horizon League.  

Tonight was the 20th men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  This was the second time that I have witnessed the Cyclones play against UW-Milwaukee, and I must say that tonight was much more enjoyable of a game to watch.  The Panthers had defeated ISU in the season-opener back in 2017, which was one of the more disappointing games that I have been to.  

I also wanted to mention that we had our Salton Thanksgiving this weekend.  Amy & Brandon brought their kids over from Omaha, and Eben drove down from the farm.  I ordered a smoked turkey breast from Watcha Smokin, and we made a bunch of sides to go with it (scalloped corn, mashed potatoes & gravy, Brussels sprouts, a relish tray, cornbread stuffing, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin bars).  It is always nice having the chance to spend some time with family.

ISU 68, UW-Milwaukee 53.

Nolan, Logan, Emma, and Maxwell with grandpa Eben.  

Sunday, November 13th 2022

 Today Maxwell and I went over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Cyclones defeat the Aggies of North Carolina A&T, 80-43.  

I gave Maxwell the option to pick whatever he wanted from the concession stand today, and instead of pop or a Clone Cone he decided to grab a package of gummy bears.  Today marks the 19th time I have taken him to see a men's basketball game.  Today was much more entertaining than the last game I took Maxwell to, which was an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State last year.

 As for today's game, Aljaz Kunc was the player of the game for the Cyclones, as he finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.  He was joined in double figures scoring for Iowa State by Osunniyi (16), Holmes (13), and Tamin Lipsey (10).  It was nice to see Lipsey play well, as he is a hometown favorite who grew up in Ames.

Go Cyclones!