Saturday, February 25th, 2023

 Well, today I took Maxwell with me to Hilton, where we watched the #23 ranked Cyclones drop a game vs Oklahoma, 61-50.  Iowa State has really been in a slump recently, as they have lost 7 of their last 9 games.  Not exactly the way you want to be playing heading into March...

I believe that this was the 24th basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  He still has not seen ISU defeat the Sooners.  Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech are the other conference teams that he still needs to see the Cyclones defeat.  

As for today's game, the Cyclones were leading by 5 points at halftime, but for a large portion of the second half their offense completely stalled.  I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he scored 10 points and had 4 steals.  Gabe Kalscheur was the only other Cyclone in double figures today, with 12.  

Today was the 9th time that I have seen ISU play Oklahoma, and it is only the second time that the Sooners have won.  ISU was victorious in 2022, 2019, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013.  The only other game that OU won was back in 2003.  

Overall this year I attended 11 men's basketball games.  ISU won nine of those and lost the last two.  I was happy that I was able to cross Kansas off of the list of teams that Nolan needed to see Iowa State defeat, and it was fun to cross Texas off of that list for Maxwell.  

Wins:

• Kansas
• Texas
• Baylor
• Western Michigan
• St. John's
• North Dakota
• UW-Milwaukee
• North Carolina A&T
• IUPUI

Losses:

• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State

Saturday, February 11th, 2023

 Today Eben came down to visit and brought us some meat from a beef that took to the locker recently.  We ordered Pizza Pit for lunch (one sausage and one Canadian bacon / pineapple pizza).  Nolan proclaimed after trying it that pineapple does not belong on pizza.  We then spent some time watching old home movies that Eben had made.  Those were the highlights of the day.

I also took Eben over to Hilton today, but unfortunately it was a stinker of a basketball game, as #11 Iowa State fell to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 64-56.  The Cyclones shot poorly from the free throw line, hitting only 9-19.  I would say that Tamin Lipsey was the player of the game for ISU, as he had 12 points and 6 rebounds.  The only other Cyclone in double digits scoring was Aljaz Kunc (13).  

Today was the 9th time that I have attended a basketball game between the Cyclones and Cowboys.  Iowa State has won 6 of those games (2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2013).  

Saturday, February 4th, 2023

 LET'S GO CYCLONES!!

Today Nolan and I were able to watch an exciting win by the #13 Cyclones, as they defeated the #8 Kansas Jayhawks, 68-53.  

This was the 29th time that I have taken Nolan to a men's basketball game, and it was his 11th conference game.  After today's win, the only Big 12 team that he has not seen Iowa State defeat in person is the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  The other conference wins that Nolan has attended are: West Virginia in 2022, Oklahoma in 2022, Texas in 2020, Baylor in 2018, Texas Tech in 2017, Kansas State in 2016, and TCU in 2014.  

Today was the seventh time I have attended an ISU / Kansas basketball game, and it was Iowa State's third win.  The other games where I saw the Cyclones defeat the Jayhawks were in 2019 and in 2015.  

As for today's game, I would say that Jaren Holmes was the player of the game, as he led the team with 15 points.  He connected on 4 of 6 from three point range.  Holmes was joined in double figures scoring by Osun Osunniyi (13) and Tre King (10).  The Cyclones forced 20 Jayhawk turnovers, compared to only 10 for Iowa State.  

Today's game was "Gold Rules", and there were golden pop-poms on every seat.

GO CYCLONES!!

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.