Friday, March 24, 2000
Iowa State 80, UCLA 56
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The game was so one-sided, Iowa State guard Jamaal Tinsley twice slid his index finger across his throat to signify UCLA was finished in the NCAA Tournament.
He waited until there were two minutes left in the game to exercise this gesture, then repeat it. It would have been just as well had he waited until the Cyclones were privately celebrating their advancement to the Midwest Regional final, but if he wished to be timely, Tinsley could put on his little display at halftime.
Iowa State dropped the Bruins into a 12-point halftime deficit and kept them down the rest of this regional semifinal, eventually finishing an 80-56 blowout just before midnight Thursday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The second-seeded Cyclones will face Michigan State at 7 p.m. Saturday for the opportunity to gain a spot in next week's Final Four.
“We just granted ourselves another 40 minutes,” said Cyclones senior Stevie Johnson.
What UCLA had done to Maryland in the second round, the Cyclones did to UCLA. They controlled the game from the start and dominated as it progressed. Tinsley led the way with a near triple-double performance, and All-American Marcus Fizer provided 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Welcome again to what is not the Marcus Fizer Show,” Fizer said. “This team has talent all over the court. People can see I'm not the only one doing things.”
When the Cyclones (31-4) are jogging through their layup lines, they do not look like a Final Four team, unless maybe you're talking about the Division II Final Four.
But when the ball is in play, they appear genuinely frightening, even with their 6-foot-3 power forward and their three pint-sized guards and their coach, Larry Eustachy, dressed like he's just getting off the evening shift at The Home Depot.
“I certainly think we're moving closer to that word: respect,” Eustachy said. “I've used it as a motivational tool all season long.”
Against UCLA, Tinsley had 14 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds. Johnson, standing 8 inches shorter than UCLA power forward Jerome Moiso, put up 16 points and eight rebounds to Moiso's 15 and 10.
UCLA (21-12) shot just .339 from the field and buried itself in early turnovers. It was as if the Bruins had written a game plan for their demise and then followed it throughout the first half:
›Don't make use of the enormous size advantage over Iowa State. (Big men Moiso and Dan Gadzuric combined for just 10 points and 5-of-14 shooting).
• Don't bother to control Tinsley's penetration. (He scored 13 points, with only one 3-point goal and passed for three assists).
• Don't remain calm and patient against Iowa State's rigid defense. (The Bruins shot 12-of-35 and turned over the ball eight times).
It hardly seemed to matter that Fizer scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Cyclones stormed to a 40-28 lead. To keep him that quiet was almost a triumph.
The Bruins grew even more desperate in the second half, after they twice lost track of Iowa State guard Michael Nurse and surrendered 3-point shots that helped extend the lead to 52-36.
UCLA (56)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Kapono 30 3-11 1-2 1-4 3 4 8
Farnham 5 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Moiso 31 5-12 5-5 3-10 0 2 15
Knight 11 1-1 1-2 0-1 0 1 4
Watson 33 3-7 0-0 0-2 5 5 8
Rush 27 3-10 0-0 1-6 0 0 6
Bailey 8 2-5 2-2 0-1 0 1 6
Hines 7 1-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 2
Barnes 19 0-6 1-2 1-1 0 2 1
Young 10 0-2 0-0 1-1 0 1 0
Brooks 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Gadzuric 17 3-6 0-0 1-3 0 2 6
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 21-62 10-13 8-31 8 18 56
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.339, FT-.769. 3-Point Goals:
4-17, .235 (Kapono 1-4, Knight 1-1, Watson 2-5,
Rush 0-5, Bailey 0-1, Barnes 0-1). Team rebounds:
1. Blocked shots: 8 (Moiso 3, Gadzuric 3, Rush,
Watson). Turnovers: 15 (Moiso 4, Watson 3,
Gadzuric 2, Bailey, Farnham, Hines, Kapono,
Knight, Rush). Steals: 7 (Rush 3, Barnes 2,
Farnham, Hines).
IOWA ST (80)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
Horton 36 3-7 2-2 0-3 3 0 9
Johnson 33 6-11 4-7 4-8 0 1 16
Fizer 33 7-15 2-2 1-9 1 3 16
Tinsley 35 5-14 3-4 1-9 11 1 14
Nurse 38 6-9 0-0 0-3 1 2 16
Evans 4 0-0 0-0 0-1 1 1 0
Hawkins 8 2-2 1-2 0-1 1 1 5
Rancik 7 2-2 0-0 1-2 0 3 4
Watkins 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Davis 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Shirley 4 0-0 0-0 1-4 0 2 0
_______________________________________________
TOTALS 200 31-60 12-17 8-40 18 14 80
_______________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.517, FT-.706. 3-Point Goals:
6-10, .600 (Horton 1-3, Tinsley 1-2, Nurse 4-5).
Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 3 (Fizer 2,
Evans). Turnovers: 12 (Tinsley 5, Horton 2,
Johnson 2, Evans, Nurse, Shirley). Steals: 9
(Tinsley 4, Nurse 2, Hawkins, Horton, Johnson).
__________________________________
Ucla 28 28 - 56
Iowa St 40 40 - 80
__________________________________
Technical fouls: None. A: 21,214. Officials: Ted
Valentine, Donnie Gray, Carl Hess.
Sports Stories
Channel 5 airing opener
Harnisch looks like Opening Day starter
No answers for No. 5 spot
Radke may be back on market
Reds Game Report
Copeland dealing with ankle
UC reorganizes football staff
