The Longhorns (17-6, 7-5 Big 12) will have the opportunity to notch another victory over a Top 10 opponent this evening when they face the Cyclones (21-3, 10-2 Big 12). Iowa State, winners of 5 straight, currently has sole possession of 1st place in the conference rankings - 1 game ahead of OU (sux) and Baylor. Texas won the matchup in Ames on January 19th, 66-48, against a short-handed ISU. This time the Joens sisters should be available after missing the previous game due to COVID protocols. Senior G/F Ashley Joens leads the team in scoring at 19.9 ppg (#3 in Big 12, #20 nationally) and rebounds (9.3 rpg). G Lexi Donarski (15.2) and PG Emily Ryan (12.2) are the other 2 Cyclones averaging 10+ points. ISU is 2nd nationally at 10.6 made 3s per game and #3 at 3-pt percentage (38.9%). In the January game, Texas held them to 31.3% (5/16).
I wouldn't be surprised to see the same defensive strategy applied to Ashley Joens that sooner Ashley Robertson and Tech's Vivian Gray were subjected to: very physical play from Audrey Warren. Joens is bigger and more physical than either of those 2 but that approach has been effective in the past. Announcers have mentioned in the past that opposing coaches get in the refs' ears before games about Audrey and her style of play. Vic needs to do the same for ISU's PG, Emily Ryan, and the forearm she was using against Rori. She had a season high 7 turnovers in January with Rori harassing her for 4 steals. If not for the repeated use of her off arm to create space and never getting called for it, it probably would've been 10+ turnovers and 3-4 fouls by Ryan and another 2-3 steals for Rori.
This is an opportunity for the Longhorns to bolster their NCAA tournament resume and gain a bit of ground for Big 12 tournament seeding. The Cyclones will hit 3s but the Longhorns need to make sure they have a hand in their faces when they attempt them and avoid sending them to the FT line. Hopefully we will see a bit of regression to the mean for Iowa State coming off a game where they made 19/36 (52.8%) of their 3-pt attempts against TCU. Make a few shots and limit ISU's 2nd chance scoring opportunities by hitting the boards on the defensive end, this is a winnable game for Texas.
@mln59 @thar0902 @wb3032 @icdb17 @Moooooo
I wouldn't be surprised to see the same defensive strategy applied to Ashley Joens that sooner Ashley Robertson and Tech's Vivian Gray were subjected to: very physical play from Audrey Warren. Joens is bigger and more physical than either of those 2 but that approach has been effective in the past. Announcers have mentioned in the past that opposing coaches get in the refs' ears before games about Audrey and her style of play. Vic needs to do the same for ISU's PG, Emily Ryan, and the forearm she was using against Rori. She had a season high 7 turnovers in January with Rori harassing her for 4 steals. If not for the repeated use of her off arm to create space and never getting called for it, it probably would've been 10+ turnovers and 3-4 fouls by Ryan and another 2-3 steals for Rori.
This is an opportunity for the Longhorns to bolster their NCAA tournament resume and gain a bit of ground for Big 12 tournament seeding. The Cyclones will hit 3s but the Longhorns need to make sure they have a hand in their faces when they attempt them and avoid sending them to the FT line. Hopefully we will see a bit of regression to the mean for Iowa State coming off a game where they made 19/36 (52.8%) of their 3-pt attempts against TCU. Make a few shots and limit ISU's 2nd chance scoring opportunities by hitting the boards on the defensive end, this is a winnable game for Texas.
@mln59 @thar0902 @wb3032 @icdb17 @Moooooo
