Maui Invitational scores, takeaways: Iowa State cruises over Colorado, salvages two wins in tournament

LAHAINA, Hawaii — It took until Game No. 9, but we finally got a blowout in the Maui Invitational. No. 5 Iowa State crushed Colorado 99-71 Wednesday in the opening game on the final day of the tournament.  

That means the Cyclones finish in fifth place in the bracket. TJ Otzelberger’s team flies back home across the Pacific after going 2-1 on the island and is 5-1 overall. Their wins over Dayton and Colorado are TBD in terms of value, but a 28-point victory vs. the Buffaloes should boost them heading into next week. They’ll need it. 

ISU’s next game is Dec. 4 at home against No. 10 Marquette. 

Cyclones sophomore Milan Momcilovic had a game-high 24 points, while Curtis Jones added 15, Keshon Gilbert 14 and three other players had 10. Otzelberger took the Iowa State job in 2021 but Wednesday marked only the second time the Cyclones scored more than 90 points against a high-major opponent. (The other one was also 99, but vs. DePaul, so it barely qualifies, really.)

The Clones, for the first time under Otzelberger, could have a top-level offense. 

“We have a team that it’s really difficult to prepare for because we’re going to end up with five, six guys in double figures that any night, one of them could be the guy,” Otzelberger said. “We’re trying to play more in transition. We’re trying to play with more pace.”

To think: ISU flirted with losing to Dayton and would’ve had to play UConn for seventh place in the last game of the tournament if it didn’t win Tuesday. That’s a wild swing. I had the Cyclones outside of the top 20 heading into the season, which was a contrarian take and, I think it’s fair to say now, almost certainly the wrong one.

For the Buffs, if I’d have given Colorado coach Tad Boyle the option of taking 1-2 or chancing going 0-3 in Maui, I think he’d have taken 1-2, especially with a win over UConn. 

“We went from the outhouse to the penthouse back to the outhouse in…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/maui-invitational-scores-takeaways-iowa-state-cruises-over-colorado-salvages-two-wins-in-tournament/

Author : Matt Norlander

Publish date : 2024-11-27 23:24:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.