Kansas vs Iowa State Basketball Recap

Kansas 84, Iowa State 61

There's rarely, if ever, a good time to play the Kansas Jayhawks. With that having been said, the Iowa State Cyclones picked a really bad week to confront the No. 3 team in the United States. It showed on a sad Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.

Hilton Coliseum has long been one of the loudest and most frenzied buildings in the Big 12 (formerly Big 8) Conference. Elite teams such as Kansas often journey to Hilton and, if they don't lose, consider themselves fortunate to escape intact. Why was this game different from the norm? Quite simply, Iowa State was just beginning to comprehend the bombshell that left Coach Greg McDermott's program reeling.

This past Tuesday, one day before a Jan. 20 game at Texas Tech, ISU shooting guard Lucca Steiger abruptly decided to fly home to his native Germany, where a $250,000 professional contract was waiting. Steiger held visions of a professional basketball career, and without fluent English, the 6-5 junior felt increasingly isolated on the Iowa State campus. The enticement of cold cash only furthered his desire to bolt to Europe and renege on his commitment to play for Greg McDermott.

That event caused enough trouble for the Cyclones, but what's even more upsetting for the folks in Ames is that they've had to endure even more off-court agony in this 2009-10 campaign. Before the season even started, Wesley Johnson - yes, the same man who is tearing it up for Syracuse and making a top 10 team out of the Orange - transferred from Iowa State to leave McDermott in the lurch. Johnson is one of the top 20 players in America without a second thought, so the loss of that wonderful talent on the wing only eroded ISU's capacities to an even greater degree.

Then consider all the injuries that have affected the Cyclones who have chosen to remain on the team: Reserves Charles Boozer and Jamie Vanderbeken suffered season-ending injuries earlier this year. Forward L.A. Pomlee was kicked off the team earlier in the month of January, and backup point guard Chris Colvin was suspended after storming out of a team meeting on Jan. 6. McDermott did allow Colvin back into the lineup early at the request of the other players when Steiger flew away to Germany. Nevertheless, the athletes from Ames found themselves thin, shorthanded, and generally underequipped against the dynamic skills and imposing versatility of the Jayhawks.

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Kansas met no resistance at the offensive end of the floor. Point guard Sherron Collins was able to penetrate at will, and as a result, KU was able to create all sorts of shots. Collins handed out six assists and generated great ball movement for the visitors, who scored a bunch of layups on uncontested moves to the rim. Kansas got what it wanted on offense, as shown by the efficiency of center Cole Aldrich, who scored his 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Another effect of Collins's penetration was that when ISU tried to stop the ball, KU's big men were able to clean up missed shots on the offensive glass. Aldrich and forward Marcus Morris combined for 10 offensive rebounds, more than ISU's total number of offensive boards. Inside or outside, KU had all the answers against an opponent that just wasn't ready to perform.

Not this week, at any rate.

In due time, Iowa State might figure out how to play without Lucca Steiger. For now, the Cyclones are left wondering why defections continue to hamper their progress.

By: Matt Zemek
Big 12 Fans Senior Staff Writer