Tyrese Hunter gave Iowa State more than he was obligated to give. He maintained his commitment after Steve Prohm was fired; he played one hell of a freshman season; he was instrumental in turning this basketball program around at a time when there were serious questions about its future and the future of the entire athletic department, with conference realignment raging on. There was no contract, written or social, for anything more than Hunter’s freshman season. After it, Hunter assumedly did what he thought best for his career and his family, transferring to Texas. (I know he’s said it isn’t about NIL or isn’t about “the money,” but what else is he going to say?) Tyrese Hunter came to Ames and left it miles better than he found it, in no small part because of his personal contributions to the program and to the school.
That doesn’t mean Iowa State fans have to like the guy.
I would never boo Tyrese Hunter. I would certainly never heckle Tyrese Hunter. Tyrese Hunter gave so much to Iowa State, and I’m in no position to criticize a guy who lost both his parents as a child for maximizing his financial stability. But dammit, did it sting to see him go. And dammit, could Iowa State use this win tonight.
The Tyrese Hunter situation is one in which it’s hard to fault anybody. Of course Hunter’s teammates were and are mad. Of course Hunter left Iowa State for Texas. Nobody’s said a wrong thing that I’m aware of, nobody’s done a wrong thing by any cohesive set of morals. I’m glad the holdovers from last year’s team are the kind of guys who take it personally to see a teammate leave, especially for a conference rival. You want that sense of obligation to one another to exist within your program. At the same time, though—I’ll say it one more time, I guess—I cannot fault Tyrese Hunter for leaving. I wish Iowa State was in a place where they were plucking transfers from Texas and not vice versa, and I think that’s the ultimate goal, but we’re not there yet. You don’t have to resign yourself to ISU being Texas’s feeder program to maintain respect for the best point guard who’s come through Ames since Monte Morris.
Ideally, there’ll be a happy reunion one day—a laying-down of arms. Ideally, NBA pro Tyrese Hunter will come back for a big game and he’ll be shown on the jumbotron in cardinal and gold and he’ll wave and smile and the crowd will cheer. That probably isn’t to be, but a guy can dream. Either way, though, Tyrese Hunter needs to be uncomfortable tonight. Not as penance for what he’s done, but because Iowa State needs to win.
After Saturday’s near-victory in Lawrence, Iowa State’s in a position where winning the Big 12 is a reasonable goal. I’m not talking about the Big 12 Tournament, either. I’m talking about the Big 12 regular season title. The harder one of the two to obtain. Iowa State has done enough on the court that were betting lines posted today (KenPom is a great proxy for this sort of thing) they’d be favored in every remaining home game, including the one against the Jayhawks. If you’re good enough to beat every team in your league at home, you’re good enough to win that league.
To do that, Iowa State absolutely needs to win tonight. It’s technically possible to lose at home to the conference’s second fiddle and still come out on top, but it’s not easy. Iowa State is in win–every–night territory, and playing the league’s second team is, quite naturally, the second-toughest thing you can do. Is it reasonable to hope on winning out? No. But you need to keep pace with Kansas, and until Kansas comes to Ames on February 4th, that means staying within a game of them, which more likely than not requires a victory tonight.
Outside of Kansas, this is a measuring stick for who really is the league’s second team. At the moment, on paper, it’s Texas, even with the Kansas State loss. They’re a better team than Iowa State. On paper. But it’s close enough that we could learn tonight that this evaluation is wrong, and it’s close enough that by getting just a little bit better, Iowa State can close this gap. To beat Kansas over the course of a season, Iowa State needs to first have put Texas away, and even if this team doesn’t eventually take the crown, beating Texas could turn out decisive in the quest for a bye in Kansas City, and for grabbing that one extra line of seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
Do we know that Iowa State will continue to play at this level? No. But this team has earned this mindset. This is the biggest basketball game of the week in the entire country except for *maybe* when UCLA goes to Tucson on Saturday. This is a battle in the war for the Big 12 title.
Texas is playing fine basketball. They struggled against TCU but came back, they struggled against Texas Tech but came back, they’ve played with fire but in the post-Chris Beard days, they seem to be getting their legs back under them without too much lasting damage. Marcus Carr is terrifying with the ball in his hands, and there are lots and lots of other weapons, with Hunter himself low on the list. Defensively, the Longhorns are no Iowa State, but they’re fierce, and they force turnovers, and Iowa State’s strength is not in what it does when it has the ball. Composure is always essential, but especially at the point tonight. ISU cannot afford to give Texas the basketball.
Something Texas doesn’t do particularly well is rebound, and that’s an area of weakness for Iowa State as well, but for Texas it’s more lopsided. Iowa State struggles on the defensive glass. Texas struggles on both ends. This is a night where Osun Osunniyi needs to shine. Dillon Mitchell and Christian Bishop are good players. They’re not the best forwards in the country.
So, yes, if you’re on your way to the game tonight, go ahead and try to rattle Tyrese Hunter, if that’s what you want to do. I’m skeptical of the impact it’ll have, but all’s fair in a conference race. The real focus, for those on the court, needs to be keeping Marcus Carr under wraps and winning the battle down low. You want to heckle someone? See how Dillon Mitchell handles it. It’s wild to say this, but he might be the key.
Credit to the Cowboys?
Understandably, Tom Brady’s horrendous game stole the spotlight last night, but let’s not forget that the Cowboys went to Tampa and soundly beat a playoff team. This team went 12-5 and didn’t have its starting quarterback for a lot of the beginning of the year. They’re as vulnerable as the Eagles and Niners, but I’m not sure they’re that much more vulnerable than either of those teams. Put a pin in this.
**
Viewing schedule, second screen rotation in italics:
College Basketball (big national games)
- 7:00 PM EST: Kansas @ Kansas State (ESPN)
- 8:00 PM EST: Texas @ Iowa State (ESPN+)
College Basketball (other good stuff)
- 7:00 PM EST: Houston @ Tulane (ESPN+)
- 7:00 PM EST: Tennessee @ Mississippi State (ESPN2)
- 8:30 PM EST: Alabama @ Vanderbilt (SECN)
- 9:00 PM EST: Nevada @ Boise State (MWN)
NBA (best game)
- 9:00 PM EST: Portland @ Denver (League Pass)
NHL (best game)
- 9:00 PM EST: Seattle @ Edmonton (ESPN+)
Australian Open
- 7:00 PM EST and Onwards: Matches on ESPN+ & ESPN2
