Iowa State basketball's T.J. Otzelberger gets 100% real on controversial decision vs. Arizona
01/28/2025 02:03 PM
The Iowa State basketball team lost a heartbreaker on Monday night on the road against Arizona. It looked like the Cyclones had a hard-fought road victory earned as they took a three-point lead at the free throw line with just two seconds remaining in the game, but Arizona’s Caleb Love hit a buzzer beater from beyond half court to send the game into overtime. The Wildcats used that momentum in the extra period to carry them to a 86-75 win.
In late-game situations like that where a team is up by three, the strategy is often to foul so that the opposition doesn’t get a chance to tie the game and instead shoots two free throws. You know what Jon Rothstein says: ALWAYS foul up three late. However, there were only two seconds left when Arizona inbounded the ball. Iowa State basketball head coach TJ Otzelberger liked his team’s chances.
“The first scenario presents itself at 20.6 is probably too early, right? So we’re not fouling there, and then at the end, when it’s a couple seconds. I mean, you know, again, it’s easy to look at it now and say, ‘Hey, why didn’t you foul in that situation?’ But I don’t know what the odds are of that shot going in, but, you know, probably not real high,” T.J. Otzelberger said after the game, according to a video from the Des Moines Register. “So I think the odds in that situation would say you’re far better off not to foul and defend.”
That’s about as gut-wrenching of a loss as you’ll experience in college hoops. Iowa State had that game wrapped up, and then all of a sudden, they didn’t. The Cyclones are obviously disappointed, but Otzelberger is confident that the team will be better because of the defeat.
“Great college basketball game,” Otzelberger said. “What a great environment. Credit goes to Coach Lloyd and the Arizona program, they did a great job tonight, and, you know, we came up short. I just felt like, as much as we’re disappointed of the outcome, they deserve credit and I have a lot of respect for Coach Lloyd and that program. They got a great team. So we’ll be better for it. And we’ll move on to the next thing here.”
This was a huge win for Arizona as they are now 14-6 overall and 8-1 in Big 12 conference play. The victory put them ahead of the Cyclones in the Big 12 standings.
Iowa State is still having a tremendous season as they are 17-3 overall and 7-2 in Big 12 play. Many NCAA tournament bracket projections have the Cyclones as a one seed.
The Cyclones will look to bounce back from this defeat on Saturday, and they should be able to make that happen. Iowa State will be hosting 8-11 Kansas State. The two teams will tip at 1:00 CT from Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, and the game will be airing on ESPN2. The Cyclones will be big favorites in that one.
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