Iowa

Iowa State Takes Mantle as Big 12’s National Title Contender

Published

2 hours ago

January 16, 2025

Iowa State Takes Mantle as Big 12’s National Title Contender

The No. 2 team in men’s college basketball beat a top-10 team (a blueblood, at that) Wednesday night. They did it without a single minute played by a former top-100 high school player.

Watching the Iowa State Cyclones’ 74–57 win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Wednesday night, you’d never have guessed the roundabout paths taken to Ames, Iowa, by their top talents. Their leading scorer (Curtis Jones, who Kansas coach Bill Self said looked like a first-team All-American) didn’t have a single Division I or II offer out of high school and wasn’t even ranked a top-150 transfer the year he enrolled at Iowa State. Their frontcourt, which dominated Kansas star Hunter Dickinson, contains players whose careers have taken them to Washington State, Charlotte, Seattle and Saint Mary’s before matriculating in Ames. Their clutch shotmaker? An Ames High School legend largely overlooked by any of the major recruiting services.

“I think their evaluation [in] recruiting has been tremendous,” Self said postgame. “The pieces fit.”

A team like this one, a true national title contender, has been slowly building at Iowa State since T.J. Otzelberger inherited a miserable 2–22 team in the spring of 2021. Going dancing (and making a Sweet 16 run at that) on the back of pure defensive grit in Year 1 laid the foundation. Tamin Lipsey, the Ames High product, entered in Year 2 and emerged as a star in Year 3. He got backcourt reinforcements before last season in Jones and Keshon Gilbert, who flanked him on a 29-win Big 12 tournament championship team a year ago. Now, the Cyclones have the frontcourt to match, supercharging an offense that often looked stuck in second gear over Otzelberger’s first three years.

Wednesday wasn’t Iowa State’s most efficient offensive day, beset by seven free throw misses and a shocking nine missed layups. But the difference in weapons from last year’s club? Night and day. That starts with Jones and Gilbert, who’ve made the jump as second-year transfers from effective backcourt mates to Lipsey into legitimate stars. Jones entered the night third in the Big 12 in scoring and should climb further up the list after 25 more points Wednesday, including an electrifying 20 in the first half. Gilbert has upped his scoring, assists and field goal percentage from a year ago, lightening the ballhandling load on Lipsey. They’ve also allowed the Cyclones to get out and run more, which has generated more easy buckets for an offense that needed them a year ago.

“We have multiple guys that can push the break and get out and run,” Otzelberger said. “It’s really hard defensively because you’ve got to get back and get set because our guards are coming and looking to score.”

But the more pronounced difference from last year’s still-excellent club is the effectiveness with which its bigs can generate offense. That comes from three portal additions from the spring, Joshua Jefferson (Saint Mary’s Gaels), Dishon Jackson (Charlotte 49ers) and Brandton Chatfield (Seattle Redhawks). Jefferson is the lynchpin and perhaps the sport’s most overlooked addition. Even on a night where he left multiple buckets on the board with missed shots at the rim, he still stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. When he catches at the elbows, he’s a threat to drive, knock down the jumper or distribute, and the pressure that puts on defenses is immense. Then there’s Jackson, a more effective post scorer than anyone the Cyclones had in 2023–24, who matched a season-high with 17 points and outplayed a potential All-American in Dickinson. These two pickups, in particular, ranked as the No. 131 and No. 202 portal players in the spring, have completely changed Iowa State’s identity and elevated the Cyclones clearly into the sport’s top tier in the process.

“If the other team tries to take somebody away, somebody else is going to make the play … We’ve got so many playmakers,” Jones said. “You’ve really got to pick your poison.”

Combine this added offensive firepower with the same principles that have lifted Iowa State through its past offensive struggles, and you’ve got perhaps college basketball’s most complete team. The defensive execution Wednesday? Superb, limiting Kansas to under 0.8 points per possession and just 11 shots at the rim all night. The hustle plays? Still an Otzelberger special.

“I bet you they get 75% of the 50-50 balls,” Self quipped. “We tried hard, but there’s a difference between trying hard and competing [against them].”

Iowa State led for over 35 minutes, rarely even seeming threatened by the traditionally daunting Jayhawks. The Cyclones’ five Big 12 wins have come by an average of 14 points, the lone nail-biter an overtime rally past the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock over the weekend. In all, ISU has won 12 straight, its only setback this season an 83–81 thriller in Maui against the No. 1 Auburn Tigers. Iowa State led by as many as 18 before a furious Auburn rally. The Tigers and the Duke Blue Devils get much of the typical praise as No. 1A and 1B in the national picture, but performances like Wednesday’s show Iowa State clearly belongs in that same conversation.

Kansas has been the Big 12’s standard-bearer since the league’s existence. Iowa State has now beaten the Jayhawks in Ames in three straight years, each time less surprising than the last. Iowa State may not measure up recruiting rankings-wise with the nation’s elite, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better program right now in college basketball.

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Iowa

Iowa’s Chief Justice calls for increasing pay for judges, court appointed attorneys

Published

10 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

Iowa’s Chief Justice calls for increasing pay for judges, court appointed attorneys

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Iowa’s top judge is calling on state lawmakers to make reforms to the judicial system this legislative session. In particular, she’s asking for changes when it comes to judicial pay and public defenders.

Before a joint session of the legislature Wednesday, Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen laid out her vision to make the judicial system better in her Condition of the Judiciary address.

“While we respect the priorities of leaner government and fiscal responsibility, I ask for your partnership in ensuring the courts have the resources needed to fulfill this promise to Iowans,” she said.

Christensen says a top issue for the Iowa Judicial Branch is getting more attorneys who are willing to represent clients who can’t afford their own attorney. She says the state has only half the number of contracted attorneys to do that compared to 10 years ago.

“If a criminal defendant isn’t provided court appointed counsel, critical deadlines may be missed and the case could fall apart, allowing the defendant to avoid prosecution entirely. It’s that plain and simple,” she said.

Christensen says Iowa pays less than every surrounding state. She says judges have been asking attorneys to sign up for contract work, but aren’t having success.

“We’re told it’s little success because the attorneys won’t work at our low state rate when they have clients that can pay a competitive hourly rate,” she said.

Christensen also wants these lawmakers to increase pay for judges.

In Fiscal Year 2023, a state District Court judge made $158,000. Christensen says that’s lower than every state surrounding Iowa and 41st in the nation.

Iowa judges got a 5% raise last year, which Christensen says was the largest raise state judges have received in the past 16 years.

Christensen says the number of people applying for a judgeship has dropped 56% in the past 20 years. She believes pay for judges is part of the problem.

“We risk attracting a pool of applicants who may not have the qualifications or the proper temperament to serve effectively. This could lead to rulings that are inconsistent or poorly grounded in the law, which ultimately undermines the confidence in our courts,” she said.

Christensen wants the legislature to raise the salaries about $27,000 over the next four years. Kansas used a similar method and increased their judicial pay ranking from 51st in the nation to 29th.

Christensen did not address the Judicial Branch computer error that sent $27.5 million in court fees to the wrong accounts over a five year period in her speech.

Judicial Branch officials previously said that the problem has been corrected.

—

Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV on X/Twitter @ConnerReports, and on TikTok @ConnerReports.

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Iowa

PODCAST: What’s ailing the Iowa basketball programs after tough losses

Published

18 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

PODCAST: What’s ailing the Iowa basketball programs after tough losses

Men’s basketball leads our conversation this week, following the Hawkeyes’ 99-89 loss to USC late Tuesday night.

The Register’s Chad Leistikow and Tyler Tachman look at the mercurial nature of Iowa’s play of late, wonder who Fran McCaffery trusts and look ahead to Friday’s game at UCLA.

Chad and Tyler also discuss Mark Gronowski’s surgery and its impact on the Iowa football quarterback derby.

To finish, Chad is joined by Dargan Southard to help find perspective and solutions surrounding the Iowa women’s basketball team’s three-game slide.

For a direct link to the podcast, click here.

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Iowa

USC 99, Iowa 89: Still Winless on the Road

Published

1 day ago

January 15, 2025

Press Room

USC 99, Iowa 89: Still Winless on the Road

LOS ANGELES, CA — Iowa put together yet another dreadful defensive performance on the road, dropping Tuesday night’s matchup with USC (11-6, 3-3) by a score of 99-89. The Hawkeyes dug themselves too deep of a hole to climb out of and remain winless on the road in Big Ten play.

Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Still Winless on the Road

Iowa is 0-3 in true road games this season, all of which have come in conference play. With losses to Michigan, Wisconsin and now USC, all of Iowa’s losses in the Big Ten have come away from home.

“[USC] is a driving team,” Fran McCaffery said after the loss. “I thought our defense was not what it needed it be. … Our rebounding was not good.”

The latter portion of the quote is definitely accurate in all three road losses. Over the three games, Iowa has allowed an average of 100 points per game. In the same three contests, Iowa was out-rebounded by an average of 16 rebounds per game(opponents averaging 39.7 to Iowa’s average of 23.7).

“There are a lot of good teams in this league,” McCaffery added. “It’s not going to be easy to win on the road, so you try to protect home and stay in the fight. We made a nice comeback, had a chance, didn’t get it done. Onto the next.”

The teams Iowa has lost to aren’t slouches by any means — Michigan is the No. 20 team in the country, Wisconsin was ranked at one point and was able to hit 21 three-pointers against the Hawkeyes and USC is fresh off an upset win over No. 13 Illinois on the road.

However, if Iowa is going to be competitive in the Big Ten this season, they’ll need to start winning against teams with solid resumes, and if they’re going to make the tournament, they’ll need to start doing it sooner rather than later — and doing it on the road.

More Hot Shooting vs. the Hawks

Going into Tuesday’s contest, the Trojans were shooting 47.8% from the field. Against Iowa, they shot 64.9%. Prior to the contest vs. the Hawkeyes, USC was shooting 33% from three. They shot 66.7% from deep on Tuesday.

“They got comfortable,” McCaffery said. “They they made a bunch of threes tonight. It’s not typically their strong point, but they made them tonight and you can see that they’re a team that’s gaining confidence.”

Four Trojans scored in double-figures, with junior guard Desmond Claude leading the way with 25 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

“He dribbles a lot,” McCaffery said regarding the difficult of guarding Claude. “I thought a lot of things that I can’t say, but I want to give the kid credit because he’s a really good player. We had some success with the trap a little bit, but our reactions out of it were not good enough [to stop Claude].”

Redshirt-freshman guard Wesley Yates posted a career high 21 points on Tuesday night as well, hitting four 3-pointers, which was also a career high. Each of those triples came in the first half.

Dug Too Deep of a Hole

Iowa went into halftime trailing 48-32, an all too familiar scenario for the Hawkeyes, even within the last week.

With recent performances by senior forward Payton Sandfort that have earned him the nickname “Second Half Sandfort” — scoring 30 in the second half against Nebraska and 21 in the second half against Indiana — trailing by double-digits doesn’t seem terribly difficult to overcome for the Hawkeyes and their senior leader.

This time, it came back to bite them. With just five first-half points, Sandfort had trouble getting going early yet again.

“It’s hard for him because he’s getting mugged,” McCaffery said. “You try to screen for him, he’s getting held. But to his credit, he keeps moving and he keeps screening and he figures out a way. … We want to run stuff for him, but teams are really, really mugging him.”

With the Trojan defense so focused on the perimeter, things opened up inside for Owen Freeman, who looked to take advantage over USC’s center and former Iowa portal target, Josh Cohen.

The sophomore big did just that with a myriad of post moves, soft touch around the rim, going up strong for dunks and making his first three since December 12, to score 13 points in the first half and finish with a career high of 23. He also led Iowa in rebounds with six.

Thanks to the first half lead, and the continued advantage on the glass and from the perimeter, the Trojans were able to keep the Hawkeyes at arms length for the majority of the second half, building a lead of up to 19 points.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Iowa trimmed the deficit to nine points with just with 6:50 to go. The game, appearing to be within reach, was promptly taken over by guard Drew Thelwell. He hit the gas, scoring eight of his 16 points over the ensuing two minutes.

Not only did the Morehead State transfer drive to the bucket at-will, but he made four-of four free throws over that stretch — a rarity for the senior, who was shooting 64.2% going into Tuesday’s contest.

“I thought his energy level was really impressive at both ends,” McCaffery said. “He was really fighting defensively, pushing it hard, driving the ball, being aggressive offensively — that’s what we need from him. I’m really proud of him.”

Pair Sandfort’s trademark second half and adding 15 points, it looked as though McCaffery’s squad had a real opportunity to steal a win in the LA.

The attempt to will iowa to victory came up just short for Thelwell, as with 4:06 to go and the Trojan lead cut to five, he lost control of the ball and turned it over out of bounds. USC scored on the following two possessions to extend its lead to 89-81. It never felt as though Iowa had its chance to get back into the contest, and USC pulled away for the win at home.

NEXT: Iowa will travel across town to take on UCLA (11-6, 2-4) on Friday night at 8 pm CT. The game will be broadcast on FS1.

Don’t miss out on any of our exclusive football, basketball, and recruiting coverage. Sign up with Hawkeye Beacon here.

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