Despite our lackluster performance last night, there is still no reason that team should have lost to Drake last night. Our players were recruited to Iowa State because their talent was Big 12 level, not Missouri Valley. When you play in Hilton Coliseum in front of 12k to 14k fans, and the other arenas in the Big 12, it can be very difficult to transition down to play a game in a glorified high school gymnasium full of 4k to 5k fans. This letdown, along with Drake's extra motivation to beat the BCS conference team, plays extremely far into Drake's (and any other mid-major)'s favor. Mizzou does not play Missouri State; Kansas and Kansas State do not play Wichita State.... it's time for Iowa State to only play this game at home, at Wells Fargo, or else not at all. If this team hits its stride in Big 12 play, and develops a tournament resume, last night's game at Drake will be a thorn in our side, and possibly even a burst our bubble. It is time to quit catering to a private school who's success directly hampers our ability to compete and reach the next level. We might as well play a schedule North Carolina or Duke if we're going to lose at Drake, instead.
Nothing against the poster, you're certainly entitled to your opinion. Now, let me express mine...
Let me shed a little light on the subject. I agree with your first two sentences - there's no way Iowa State should lose to Drake. Big 12 talent (especially the likes of Royce White, Chris Babb, and co.) shouldn't be losing games to a middle-of-the-pack MVC school.
Too bad after that, your analysis totally goes to hell.
Your contention that the size of the arena somehow contributed to the loss is total crap. If you can't win in a "glorified high school gym" (your words), then how do you ever expect to win on the road at KU? Or Baylor? Or Texas? The reason Drake is on your schedule in the first place is so you can get a win on the road over a mid-major program from a quality conference. It would go a ways to help YOUR tournament resume- wins at home over cupcakes aren't going to get you an at-large bid.
The more important issue here is why ISU lost the game, and in my mind it comes down to two key things.
First, Iowa State hasn't developed any kind of "chemistry" yet on offense or defense. Too many times down the court, it wound up being a one-on-one situation - one player brings the ball up the court, tries to make something happen, and ends up settling on an off balance shot driving wildly into the lane. There was no set play, no scheme, just ballin'. That won't work against a veteran team like Drake that's played together for a full year.
On defense, there were some awful matchups. On at least three occasions, I saw Scott Christopherson guarding Jordan Clarke (PF) while Royce White was on Karl Madison (PG). Coach Hoiberg hit the nail on the head in the postgame- the team threw the defensive game plan out the window. They don't understand the concept of "team defense" yet. There needs to be more organization on both ends of the court. For the first time since Mark Phelps arrived at Drake, it looked like the Bulldogs were in a solid scheme for all 40 minutes.
The other red flag for Iowa State is their lack of size. Royce White (6'9") was the biggest man on the court last night for ISU, and even he got out-muscled inside on a number of occasions. If you got beat up by Drake, imagine what KU or Baylor will do. ISU didn't run many fast breaks last night, and they may have to get out of the halfcourt, grind-it-out offense if they don't magically find some size.
Iowa State may have top-25 talent, but they are far from a top-25 team. The good news for ISU fans is Hoiberg is a good coach, and knows what has to be done. By the time January rolls around, it will be a completely different team.
I doubt Drake will be coming off the schedule any time soon. And I wouldn't count on Duke or North Carolina coming to Hilton either.
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