T.J. Otzelberger has a simple message for No. 8 Iowa State as it prepares to host Colorado in a Big 12 matchup Tuesday night in Ames, Iowa.
The Cyclones’ head coach told the players to keep up the good work on the boards. If the team can win the rebounding battle, it is likely to win the scoreboard battle, too.
“There’s nothing more winning than rebounding,” Otzelberger said. “There’s nothing that translates to success more than rebounding. It’s a will and a determination.”
Iowa State (20-5, 10-4 Big 12) is coming off one of its best rebounding efforts of the season as it turns its attention to the Colorado Buffaloes (10-15, 1-13). The Cyclones outrebounded Cincinnati 36-16 in their most recent game on Saturday, with 12 coming on the offensive glass in the 81-70 victory.
Otzelberger said offensive rebounds, in particular, can set the Cyclones on a path to success.
“They’re very timely,” he said. “At points in the game when maybe your offense isn’t flowing quite as well as you’d like, you can turn a negative into a positive quick by (showing) tremendous effort on the glass with two hands and getting that rebound.
“That oftentimes either leads to free throws, a putback or a great shot from (3-point range), and I think that’s where those plays are so impactful.”
Meanwhile, Colorado aims to build off its first victory in almost two months. The Buffaloes are coming off a 76-63 home win Saturday over UCF, which snapped a string of 13 losses in a row to begin conference play.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle praised his players as they get ready to head to Iowa State.
“What we’ve been through over the last month and a half — just battling and fighting and scratching and clawing — and coming up short, these guys have stuck together,” Boyle said. “They haven’t lost their belief in each other or themselves, which is a testament to them.
“It’s nice to see them rewarded.”
Buffaloes guard Julian Hammond III said the win made him and his teammates hungry for more.
“Once you win one game, you just want to build on all of the good things,” Hammond said. “We rebounded the ball really well (against UCF), so we want to take that into Iowa State.
“There’s no pressure on us anymore, really. So we’re just going to go out and try and compete and play hard every night. Whatever we did well in the past games, we just want to carry that into the next six league games.”
Curtis Jones leads Iowa State with 17.6 points per game, alongside 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Keshon Gilbert is next with 14.4 points per game, and Joshua Jefferson rounds out the top three scorers with 12.8 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds.
Hammond leads the way for Colorado with 13.1 points per game, and he is tied with Trevor Baskin for the team lead with 1.2 steals per contest. Andrej Jakimovski is second on the Buffaloes with 9.9 points per game, and Elijah Malone ranks third with 8.0.
Iowa State is 13-1 at home this season. Colorado is 0-7 on the road.
–Field Level Media
