Tag: Iowa State Cyclones

Vikings 2024 NFL draft scouting report: Iowa State CB T.J. Tampa

Iowa State CB T.J. Tampa was excellent for the Cyclones over the last few seasons. What does his NFL Draft stock look like?

Welcome to SKOL Search!

This series will be your guide to the 2024 draft class. From scouting reports to mock drafts and exploring different scenarios, we will be covering the NFL draft and the future of the Minnesota Vikings from all angles.

The focus of the draft class in this space will be on the Vikings’ major needs at quarterback, running back, defensive line and edge rusher. We will also focus on wide receiver since it’s a loaded class and an increased chance to get a Stefon Diggs-type steal in the later rounds.

The Vikings are slated to have 9 picks going into the NFL draft and they need to make the most out of them.

How to watch, key players for Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 1 Houston Cougars

Here is how you can watch the Oklahoma Sooners’ upcoming game against the Houston Cougars.

The Oklahoma Sooners return home after a terrible trip to Ames, Iowa where they were smothered by the [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag]’ defense. Now, they return to Norman to face the top team in the country.

There is a fun storyline to follow in this one. [autotag]Kelvin Sampson[/autotag] returns to Norman for the first time since leaving after the 2005-2006 season. Sampson finished with a 279-109 record in Norman and is probably the second-best coach in OU men’s basketball history. He won three consecutive conference tournament titles and made the Final Four and the Elite 8 during his time.

Now, he brings his [autotag]Houston Cougars[/autotag] team and smothering defense to Norman, looking to wrap up the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] regular season title in their first year in the conference soon.

So, let’s look at some key players and how you can watch the game.

Duke remains steady at No. 9 in latest AP Poll

After two relatively stress free wins last week, Duke remains at No. 9 in latest AP Poll.

After winning both of their games last week in an attempt to bounce back from the loss to their Tobacco Road rivals, Jon Scheyer’s Duke Blue Devils remained at No. 9 in the latest AP Poll released Monday afternoon.

Duke dispatched Notre Dame at home 71-53 to complete a season sweep of the Fighting Irish. They followed up with an 80-65 home win over a Boston College team led by All-ACC big man Quinten Post.

As the calendar inches closer and closer to March, Duke is trying to round itself into form and begin playing their best basketball at the right time.

At the top of the AP Poll, Connecticut and Purdue serve as the two best teams in the nation, respectively. UNC‘s home loss to Clemson for just the second time ever cost them their spot at No. 3. That now goes to the Houston Cougars, who moved up since Kansas lost against their in-state rivals, the Kansas State Wildcats on the road.

Marquette and Arizona are your fourth- and fifth-ranked teams as both saw themselves rise three spots from last week’s poll.

Kansas is now sixth, while Hubert Davis’ team is now seventh. All-American candidate Dalton Knecht and the Tennessee Volunteers are now eight after Texas A&M drilled them on Saturday evening.

T. J. Otzelberger and the Iowa State Cyclones round out the top 10, giving the Big 12 three schools in the top 10.

Tony Bennett and the Virginia Cavaliers join the Blue Devils and Tarheels as the only ACC teams represented in the top 25.

Duke, Virginia, and UNC are in a tense battle for ACC supremacy, with the Tar Heels holding onto a one-game lead over UVA and a 1.5-game lead over Duke. UVA and UNC are set to play each other toward the end of February, while Duke is set to host both Virginia and UNC in March as their final two home games to close out this ACC regular season.

Watch: Iowa State shares hype video for Brock Purdy before Super Bowl

Iowa State shared a must-watch hype video for former Cyclone QB Brock Purdy before the Super Bowl.

Prior to stepping under center for the San Francisco 49ers, Brock Purdy played four seasons in Ames, Iowa, for the Iowa State Cyclones. During his college career, Purdy shattered multiple Iowa State records, including becoming the program’s most passing and total touchdowns, along with yards and competitions.

Purdy represented Iowa State as a three-time All-Big 12 quarterback. As a junior, Purdy led Iowa State to the program’s first New Year’s Six Bowl Game, beating Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.

Before the Super Bowl, Iowa State took to Twitter to share a must-watch hype video for their former quarterback. The video featured his family, former Iowa State basketball players Tyrese Haliburton and Georges Niang and his former coach Matt Campbell.

Via @CycloneFB on Twitter:

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Duke softball sweeps doubleheader against Iowa State and Nebraska for first two wins of 2024

The Blue Devils couldn’t get the better of top-ranked Oklahoma on Thursday, but the Duke softball team handled business against Iowa State and Nebraska on Friday.

If any Blue Devils fans needed a reminder that a season-opening loss to Oklahoma is not the end of the world, the Duke softball team gave them that on Friday.

Duke played two games in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Friday, first against Iowa State before an afternoon game against Nebraska, and the Blue Devils won both games by a combined 18 runs.

The team wasted little time reminding the Cyclones they were still one of the best teams in the country during the morning’s opening game. After Duke batted in two runs in the opening inning, the Blue Devils broke the game wide open with a five-run second inning.

The entire rally happened with two outs. After the bases were loaded by two singles and a walk, junior Ana Gold laced a single into left that drove home two runners. Claire Davidson followed up with a two-RBI smack of her own in the very next at-bat, a double to right-center, before Aminah Vega brought her around to home with a single.

Seven straight Blue Devils batters reached base before the final out of the inning was recorded, and the lead was 7-0 before the Cyclones got their second chance to bat.

Iowa State tried to answer with two runs in the bottom of the second, but a grand slam from Davidson powered another five-run inning in the third, and the rout was on.

Duke scored four more runs over the rest of the game and ended up winning by mercy rule, 16-3, after just five innings. Davidson finished the game with a home run, two doubles, and six RBIs in just four at-bats.

The Blue Devils kept the momentum rolling in the top of the first against Nebraska, with Aminah Vega powering a line drive into right field to bring home a pair of runners and give Duke the early lead.

Duke managed to bring four more runs home across the next six innings, including a solo shot from Jada Baker in the sixth, but those opening two runs proved to be enough of a buffer.

Nebraska didn’t score a run until the bottom of the final inning, when Duke’s lead was already six, and the Cornhuskers managed just a single run and a single hit across the entire game as Duke coasted to a 6-1 victory.

The Blue Devils now sit 2-1 on the young after the back-to-back wins. They play their last game of the season-opening tournament on Saturday against Long Beach State. The game will start at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Oklahoma Sooners women’s basketball getting back to enjoying basketball

This season has been up and down Sooners which is why Jennie Baranczyk has to remind them to enjoy playing the game they love.

There might not be a hotter team in all of women’s college basketball than the Oklahoma Sooners. The Sooners have gone from being out of the projected [autotag]NCAA Tournament[/autotag] field to being ranked and atop the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] conference.

The Sooners currently sit at 16-6 and 10-1 in conference play. It wasn’t that long ago the Sooners were being upset at home by Southern to fall to 6-5 on the season. At that point, it looked like a lost season but [autotag]Jennie Baranczyk[/autotag] has been able to pull something out of her team to salvage the season.

It resulted in another win Wednesday night against the TCU Horned Frogs 72-55. Baranczyk talked about getting back to enjoying playing basketball. “None of us really felt great but then you look at we had 22 assists to 12 turnovers and we feel like crap,” Baranczyk said. “We’ve had that number reversed and we’re like, ‘Okay, we’re getting closer.’ You have 38 points in the paint. There were some really good things and sometimes when you get to the place that you are at, especially in February, especially today at home and you feel some type of way, you start nitpicking and you stop enjoying. I think that’s one of the things we did a little bit. We started getting a little bit too much nitpicky on some things and so just enjoying.”

They’ve also become a very fun team to watch as well. They have a chance to continue their winning ways this time on the road as they take on the [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag] on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

No. 9 Sooners fall on the road to TCU Horned Frogs 80-71

Recap of No. 9 Oklahoma’s loss in their second Big 12 conference game. The Sooners lost 80-71 to TCU.

Wednesday night was a pivotal moment in Oklahoma’s season. While it didn’t go Oklahoma’s way, the Sooners got that first road game experience. Wednesday became the second time Oklahoma has tasted defeat all year as the TCU Horned Frogs upset the Sooners 80-71.

Oklahoma entered the game off their first win in Big 12 play after beating a tough Iowa State team at home on Saturday. That same Iowa State team turned right around and beat previously unbeaten Houston on Tuesday evening.

Oklahoma has played many games on neutral courts, but the Sooners’ trip to Fort Worth was anything but inviting.

Porter Moser’s team opened the game trading baskets with TCU before the Frogs pushed out to a 27-22 lead midway through the first half. The Sooners were paced early by [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] and [autotag]Sam Godwin[/autotag]. Godwin had seven first-half points. Uzan filled the stat sheet with six points, six rebounds, and six assists in the first 20 minutes.

Foul trouble and missed shots disrupted Oklahoma’s offensive rhythm in the first half, but the Sooners hung around enough to get into the locker room down 40-34.

Jameer Nelson Jr. and Emmanuel Miller paced the Horned Frogs’ scoring efforts in the first half. Nelson had nine of his 13 in the first half, while Emmanuel Miller poured in 10 of his 27 during the first 20 minutes.

Oklahoma’s 11 fouls and 12 turnovers were the story before the break.

[autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag] came out fighting as he knocked in back-to-back threes to tie the game at 40 immediately after halftime.

From there, things began to get dicey for Oklahoma. The fouls continued to pile up, and the Frogs never looked back.

The Horned Frogs answered with seven unanswered points and began to run away from the Sooners, pushing the lead to as many as 17 points late in the game. The Sooners fought back to make the score more respectable, but the proof was in the pudding. TCU seized control of the game in the final 20 minutes.

Cold-shooting couldn’t mitigate Oklahoma’s foul trouble. Le’tre Darthard was 0-6 from three, and Rivaldo Soares was 0-3 from behind the arch. The Sooners shot just 28 percent as a team from three, which will never get it done in high-major basketball.

Milkos Uzan flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, ten assists, and seven boards. John Hugley scored 14 off the bench, and Javian McCollum ended with 17 points to lead all Sooners in scoring.

It won’t get any easier for Oklahoma. They won’t be shell-shocked by a road atmosphere come Saturday as they make a trip to Lawrence, Kan., to take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas lost to Big 12 newcomer UCF just before the Oklahoma and TCU game tipped off. Both teams will be desperate to get off the mat and not have to stew for the next week amid a two-game losing streak.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Bryant on Twitter @thatmanbryant.

Iowa State basketball demands respect after win over Houston

The Iowa State Cyclones are now 12-3 on the season with a huge win over Houston on Tuesday, and it is time for college basketball fans to take notice.

Four games into the 2023-24 college basketball season the Iowa State Cyclones were not only 4-0, they had posted margins of victory of 41 points, 55 points, 31 points, and 55 points.

Sure the opponents weren’t exactly college basketball blue bloods – Green Bay, Lindenwood, Idaho State, and Grambling – but computer services like Torvik and KenPom who factor in the margin of victory were giving a lot of love to coach T.J. Otzelberger’s squad.

A four-point win over VCU was then followed by a pair of losses to Virginia Tech and then No. 12 Texas A&M, and even though they rattled off six straight victories after that – including blowouts over DePaul and Iowa – the Cyclones didn’t sniff the Top 25 and were generally cast aside as another good but not great team in a Big 12 conference full of them.

But now, after beating the only undefeated team left in college basketball on Tuesday, the Houston Cougars, this Iowa State team is finally stepping up when needed to truly demand respect across the country.

The Cyclones held Houston to 53 points on just 38% shooting from the field, and while the team’s offense wasn’t much better they converted at the free throw line (18-22) and did enough to withstand a comeback attempt and take down the Coogs – who were playing just their second ever conference game in the Big 12.

Iowa State is now up to No. 11 in the NET rankings, boasting a 12-3 overall record. They are a combined 3-3 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games and 9-0 in Quad 4 contests, which doesn’t do them a ton of favors, but plenty of opportunities remain to pick up quality victories in conference play like they did on Tuesday evening.

“We’re a young team, we’re learning every game,” star sophomore guard Tamin Lipsey said after the game. “But we’re going to come out and fight every game no matter who we’re playing, no matter where we’re playing. Just don’t doubt us.”

The computers have loved Iowa State all season long, and after Tuesday’s big win – it might be time college basketball fans and analysts take notice.

Purdue and Houston’s historic upsets are more mind-boggling than you think

Purdue and Houston’s same-day losses were so unusual that this basketball stat doesn’t seem real.

Hold on to your seats, college basketball fans. The top two teams in the country just went down, and it happened in historic fashion.

In case you missed it, a lot happened on Tuesday. The Purdue Boilermaker’s seven-game win streak and No.1 ranking seemingly went up in smoke behind an absolutely gutsy effort from the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Nebraska shot what felt like hundreds of 3-point shots (it was actually 14 shots on 61 percent shooting — WOW) and went on a gnarly 14-2 run in the second half that unraveled anything Purdue tried to do after.

What’s more, it was the second time this season that Purdue has lost when being the top team in the country and the first time that starting forward Trey-Kaufman-Renn was held scoreless. WOOF.

If that wasn’t enough, remember in December when we told you that some undefeated teams were still left? Not anymore.

The No.2 ranked Houston Cougars were also upset.

The Iowa State men’s basketball team came to play. They forced 12 turnovers in the first half and, by halftime, were up 10 points. Houston came roaring back in the second half and managed to trim away at the scoreboard, gaining its first lead with just under four minutes to play.

But, OH, BOY. A massive and silky fadeaway bucket and clutch free throws from Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic sealed the game. Amazingly, that was Iowa State’s seventh win against top-10 teams within the last two years.

Additionally, per ESPN Stats & Information, it was the first time since February 6, 2016, that the top-two teams in men’s college basketball lost to unranked opponents on the same day and only the third time that it happened within the last 40 years. WHEW.

Rivaldo Soares’ key save helps lead to Oklahoma Sooners win

Rivaldo Soares’ effort keys huge three-pointer in win over Iowa State.

With about 6:50 left in the game, the Oklahoma Sooners held a three-point lead after an [autotag]Iowa State Cyclones[/autotag] jumper. The Cyclones kept battling back to keep the game close.

The Sooners needed a play to be made by someone. John Hugley got the ball in the corner and tried to throw it to a cutting Sooner. The ball was tipped up in the air, and out of nowhere [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag] caught the ball, turned, and flung it out to [autotag]Milos Uzan[/autotag] all in one motion, who sunk the three pointer.

It was plays like that that were huge in the Sooners’ win over the Cyclones. But those are also the plays the Sooners have made all season long. It’s why they are so fun to watch because you never know who is going to make the hustle play.

Uzan and Soares broke down that play at the end of the game on Saturday. “Rivaldo is strictly about winning, and he’s making winning plays,” Uzan said. “So, I think that he knows the work that I put in, and he knows that I’m a capable shooter. I think him just playing hard and fighting for rebounds, fighting for extra possessions, and then spraying it out to shooters is just how you win games.”

“Anytime I see Los wide open, I give him the ball,” Soares said. “The kid can shoot it.”

Soares led the Sooners with nine rebounds off the bench finished. He just constantly makes winning plays in a reserve role for this team. They are going to need more of it as they navigate through [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] play.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.