35-31 ISU at the half. 12 first half turnovers for the Horns doesn't help. If UT could just stop making stupid turnovers, the offense would be much more efficient. Overall, they have played pretty well today. If it weren't for the turnovers, it Texas would probably have a 4 to 5 point lead at the half.
Holmes is still not himself on offense. Luckily for Texas, Yancy has really stepped up his game recently, and that has continued today. There are a few spurts in this game where it really turns into a track meet. We're trying to slow the game down on offense, and it helps defensively. 51-46 ISU with 10:33 left.
It seems like every other shot that ISU makes is a 3. Oh, wait. It is. 23 made shots so far for the Cyclones. 10 of them from behind the arc. If they played better defense, they'd really have something going.
This just got out of hand rather quickly. It's an 11-point game with just under 6 to play. ISU got hot from 3. If we don't get something going quickly, we'll probably get desperate and jack up a bunch of 3's.
We're forcing ISU to shoot free throws with more than 3 minutes left. If you remember, we did the same thing in Ames earlier this year, and it got us back in the game. We're still down by 10 currently, and Holland has fouled out, but we'll see hot it goes.
Down 8, we make a basket. ISU tries to inbound it immediately, but Holmes steals the pass and we get a free basket. 4 point game with ISU shoot free throws. 1:00 left.
Give credit to ISU. They win by 8 by making their free throws at the end of the game. Texas gave themselves plenty of chances. The ball just didn't go in the hoop. It's as simple as that. I wouldn't say that they played poorly in the second half. They simply lost to a better team. They forced ISU to win it at the line, and that's just what they did.
Why Barnes runs an offense with little to zero movement blows my mind. Its like running the wishbone in football. I'm not kidding when I say my high school team had a more creative offense.
Can anyone explain why we refuse our lottery pick when it matters the most. Not a single play run-thru him in the last 2 minutes of OU. Same thing the last 2 minutes of the 1st half of ISU. Then, he is not even on the court for the last two minutes against ISU, while Holmes, Jevan, and Connor (who had combined for a total of 7 points at that juncture). Can you imagine not playing Durant in those situations. Seriously, I have no idea why Barnes refuses to start Miles and design plays to get him the ball. At this point, we may only have his services for a half dozen games. Can we please use his talents as much as possible!
