Peterson: Will Iowa State’s defense continue bringing out the worst from Big 12 coaches?

AMES – There’s nothing specifically in Iowa State’s playbook that’s called “Make the opposing coach so mad that he gets a technical foul.”

It just happens.

For the past four games, Cyclone opponents have had at least one technical foul. That includes Baylor coach Scott Drew, who was ejected Feb. 10 after drawing his second.

Will TCU’s Jamie Dixon feel so annoyed and pestered against a smothering Iowa State defense that he’ll be the fifth in a row sometime during Saturday’s 1 p.m. ESPN2 game at Hilton Coliseum? Stay tuned. It’s not like he stays within the coaches’ sideline area during an entire 40-minute game.

I know this – the Cyclones don’t intentionally set out to draw outrageous behavior from opposing coaches, but if their defensive pressure continues to be as successful as it’s been, then it’s bound to attract some type of outburst.

“It’s our ball pressure, our intensity and how much passion we show on the court,” said floor leader Tamin Lipsey, who didn’t play when the Cyclones won at TCU on Jan. 20. “I think we just frustrate the other team. That’s something that we try to do from the start of the game – put them on their heels and make them clash with each other. We always come together.”

Iowa State’s defense is so demanding to play against that coaches find themselves out of the sideline coaching box and arguing to an extent that refs have had enough.

It’s happened at home. It’s happened on the road. It’s happened to Kansas State’s Jerome Tang, Kansas’ Bill Self, Drew, and most recently to Texas coach Rodney Terry.

“I can’t speak to what’s going on on the other sideline,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said Friday. “If anything, we’re hoping our guys are playing hard and playing together. We’re focused on what we can control and what we can do. I think it’s just an odd set of circumstances, honestly.”

More: Peterson: Iowa State men’s basketball holds on vs. Texas, earns Big 12 split on the road

Odd set or not, the Big 12 issued a memorandum this week reminding coaches to stay inside their prescribed sideline area, and not on the floor. That’s something Otzelberger has tried to live by during his two-plus seasons as Iowa State’s coach. Sure, he disagrees with some calls. And yes, he brings his concern to the refs as needed – but not to the extent where he can become a physical impediment to the players on the court.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in the process and the work we put in every single day,” Otzelberger said. “We talk to our guys a lot about maintaining composure, staying in the moment, keeping focus on what’s in front of them.

“It’s important that the things I outline as important factors in us being successful, that when (players) look at me, I’m living those the same way. You want your actions to speak so loudly that no one hears your words.

“I try to do the best I can at taking that advice, trying to live it as best I can − but we all have our moments.”

The Cyclones are knocking on Omaha’s NCAA Tournament door, if you get my drift. If Iowa State wins the rest of its home games, and doesn’t win any more on the road – that’s an 11-7 Big 12 record and 22-9 overall. That’s comfortably in its third NCAA Tournament in a row, and Cyclone fans no doubt would appreciate playing the first two rounds in Omaha.

“We can’t be content with where we are, or what we’ve done up to this point,” Lipsey said. “We think of every game as our last opportunity.”

Iowa State (6-3, 17-5) is a half-game behind Big 12 leader Houston at the season’s midway point, which is significant. Yet we all know there’s still time for a lot to happen. Baylor, tied with the Cyclones, plays host to Kansas on Saturday.  

Translation: Predicting who goes into the Big 12 postseason tournament as a No. 1 seed is as much a crapshoot as technical fouls called against Iowa State opponents. The Cyclones are in a good place, which is all that matters right now.

“We can’t be satisfied with what we’ve done so far,” Rob Jones said Friday. “The regular-season games aren’t even the important ones. It’s how close can we be when stuff matters in the postseason.”

More: Peterson: Iowa State basketball’s gutsy performance at Baylor falls just short

So will Saturday be the first time in a while that Iowa State plays in essentially a drama-free game? Maybe Saturday refs won’t be forced to enforce the Big 12’s sideline crackdown. Maybe no one will criticize refs during postgame comments, like Baylor athletics director Mack Rhoades did after his team’s victory against the Cyclones last week.

The Bears’ respected AD was critical after Drew received his second technical foul (which meant ejection) for venturing too far outside the prescribed sideline coaches’ area.

Rhoades spoke his mind to reporters, then on Tuesday he was fined $25,000 by the Big 12. Had he escaped scot-free, that could have started unwanted open mic-like, free-for-all postgame ref-ranting from anyone seated behind a microphone.

Thankfully, the Big 12 acted. We don’t need a few high-strung coaches ruining what’s going to be a frantic second-half rush to the conference finish.

Iowa State columnist Randy Peterson is in his 52nd year writing sports for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at rpeterson@dmreg.com, on X @RandyPete, and at DesMoinesRegister.com/CyclonesTexts