Could Mike Miles Jr. return to the TCU lineup at No. 19 Iowa State?
TCU’s gauntlet of ranked opponents finally comes to an end Wednesday at No. 19 Iowa State.
The Cyclones (16-8, 7-5) are the third straight ranked opponent for the Horned Frogs, who are in the midst of three-game losing streak.
The losing streak coincides with injuries to Mike Miles Jr. and Eddie Lampkin Jr., which has tested the depth of the Horned Frogs. TCU (17-8, 6-6) used its 13th different starting lineup of the season in the 72-68 loss to Baylor on Saturday, the most among all Power Five teams.
Miles and Lampkin practiced for TCU on Tuesday and were full participants. There’s optimism the Horned Frogs could have their leading scorer and rebounder back. However, Damion Baugh didn’t practice with a lower body injury and his status is in question.
The last time these two teams met on Jan. 7, it was an instant classic as Gabe Kalscheur nailed a clutch 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to lift Iowa State to victory. There will be ample motivation to win this one.
Here four keys for the game:
Reeling Cyclones
Neither team comes in playing their best. Iowa State almost cracked the top-10 after an impressive start to the season, but since the calendar turned to 2023 the Cyclones have struggled. Iowa State is under .500 this year and has lost four of its last five games headed into Wednesday night’s showdown.
What’s been the issue? Iowa State’s elite defense has been vulnerable lately. The Cyclones have a top-20 scoring defense that allows just over 61 points per game, but in three of those four losses Iowa State surrendered 75 points or more. Texas Tech scored 80, Missouri scored 78, West Virginia had 76.
Iowa State isn’t built to win shootouts, so if TCU can score at least 70 points it’ll have a great chance to snap the losing streak.
A cold Kalscheur
Kalscheur might be the most important player for Iowa State. The senior guard has plenty of experience and thrives in big games and big moments. He won three state championships as a high schooler, scored 22 points in the NCAA Tournament last season and was voted MVP of the NIT Season Tip-Off in 2021 with a 30-point performance in a win over Memphis.
So he’s used to hitting clutch shots like he did to knock off TCU, but the standout guard has been on a cold streak the last few games. He’s been held to single digits in three straight games with two of them resulting in losses. Kalscheur hasn’t gone on a cold streak like that since around Thanksgiving.
The Horned Frogs will have him circled as the player to take out of the game.
Deep backcourt
While Kascheur may be the team’s MVP, the Cyclones have more good guards outside of him. Iowa State’s group isn’t as good as Baylor or Texas, but the Cyclones are still lethal on the perimeter. Jaren Holmes is the team’s leading scorer with 13.5 points per game and he’s knocking down 38% of his 3-pointers.
Senior Caleb Grill is another double-digit scorer with his average at 10.5 points per game. Grill, who is only 6-foot-3, is actually the team’s leading rebounder with 4.3 rebounds per game. The job won’t be done with just trying to limit Kalscheur, as the Horned Frogs learned against Baylor.
TCU shut down five-star freshman Keyonte George, but allowed Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer to go off with 20-plus points each. A more complete defensive performance will be required against an Iowa State team that is no offensive juggernaut. The Cyclones are just 215th in the country with an offense that averages exactly 70 points per game.
Win the rebounding battle
Coach Jamie Dixon emphasizes rebounding more than just about any coach in the country and the Horned Frogs have a chance to dominate on the glass against an Iowa State team that doesn’t rebound at a high rate.
The Cyclones are 260th in the country in rebounding compared to 127th for TCU. Assuming Lampkin is able to go, there’s no reason TCU shouldn’t win that battle. Iowa State’s best big man is St. Bonaventure transfer Osun Osunniyi, a shot blocking expert. The 6’10 center is only averaging 4.1 rebounds per game.
Iowa State did recently get back forward Aljaz Kunc the last three games from a broken finger, but he’s still working his way back. He went scoreless in one game and had just three points in another. Iowa State outrebounded TCU by five in the loss in January, that can’t happen again on Wednesday if TCU wants to secure a massive road win.
This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 1:15 PM.
