Basketball Live Thread: Iowa State

... during the highlights they showed of the senior ceremony.

Not only that, it looked like there was fair applause for Horton and Butters.

Butters bricks a three.

Remember, closure...

...that defensive intensity has picked up since the "regulars" got put on the floor.

It looks like an entirely different speed out there when the Tiller/Keon/Carroll unit is playing compared to the Horton/Volkus/Brown lineup.

As I type, though, Mizzou is getting drilled in transition.

Outside of the difference in tempo (Iowa State running MU into the ground), the biggest difference thus far?

Shot selection.

Iowa State is getting easy inside buckets, hitting mid-range jumpers, and getting to the line. MU seems unable to create open looks or finish near the hoop.

ISU up 22-19 at commercial break with free throws pending.

- Leo Lyons must REALLY want to get the hell out of Columbia. His aggressiveness and effectiveness on both ends of the court in the past few games can't be coincidental with his "leaving my options open" comment, can it?
- Mizzou doesn't look like they were expecting ISU to play at this quick of a pace. Ought to be interesting to see how Anderson counters in the second half.
- It sure seems to me like some ugly basketball...

ISU comes out hitting outside shots while Mizzou struggles to establish offensive rhythm...

Hell of a hustle play by Tiller to come up with a steal and feed Horton for a layup. ISU still leads 43-40 w/ 11:15 remaining.

nm

ISU up 53-51 with 7 minutes remaining.

A steal from Lyons, into a long pass for Tiller, to a missed layup in transition, to a rebound from Carroll, to a feed into Lyons, to a forced miss (looking for a foul), to a missed rebound by Lyons into a crazy up-and-under reverse layup by Tiller.

Just the way they drew it up.

... with Mizzou up 59-58, Tigers getting the ball back on the heels of a major Charlie Foxtrot.

Lyons to the hoop AND ONE...

MU down 62-61 with Lyons free throw to come. 29.9 remaining.

MU isolates Horton near midcourt, works a screen to Lyons who tries a fadeaway from 10 feet and misses.

OT coming up...

With Mizzou scoring the only six points of the period, thus far.

Pressure D has really stepped up late in the game.

Lyons hits a fadeaway to go up 4, Tiller comes up with a steal and heaves a long pass to Carroll who throws it down to put the game away.

I don't have much analysis here. For a double-OT thriller, this was a tough one for me to follow for some reason...

Thinnest crowd I've ever seen at a senior night (which is fitting in many ways), and nobody on the team seemed to give a crap until they fell behind by 12 early in the 2nd, but...even if we won with players I don't like (Horton, Butterfield) coming through, it was nice to see a win, and it was nice to see Demarre playing so well.  He's become very crafty in the way he's played offense the last couple of games, and that craftiness might pay off well if he gets back to full-speed next year.  He's learned not to rely on his athleticism, and that could be a great thing once, you know, he gets his athleticism back.

Even though there was an announced attendance of a little over 7,000, that place got LOUD late in the game and during overtime, especially when Carroll threw down the dunk to end the game.