What we learned from Cincinnati's Big 12 loss to No. 10 Iowa State

Iowa State came 600 miles from Ames for their first visit to Fifth Third Arena in over eight years Tuesday. Along with their uniforms, they packed their defense.

For the second straight game, UC was unable to capture a Quadrant 1 victory. The Bearcats had enough turnovers to earn a Servatii's sponsorship committing 25. That allowed the No. 10 Cyclones to get the 68-59 win in front of a crowd of 11,819.

The Bearcats turned the ball over in 38.5% of their possessions, committing more than twice their average of 11.5.

"That's what we do, that's our identity," Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. "Regardless of who we're playing, pressuring the basketball is a top priority in our program. It really wasn't anything more than what we do on a daily basis."

Jizzle James led UC with 16 points, while Simas Lukošius had 15 and Dan Skillings Jr. had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bearcats drop to 15-9 (4-7 Big 12) while Iowa State goes to 19-5 (8-3 Big 12).

Iowa State had four Cyclones in double figures making Coach Otzelberger 25-1 in such instances. Tamin Lipsey and Curtis Jones had 15 points each and Robert Jones and Keshon Gilbert each had 12.

5 reasons for another home loss

1. Coughing up ball isn't conducive to winning

UC had 25 turnovers, their second-worst effort. At one point early in the second half, 50% of the possessions were turnovers. They finished at 38.5% in their 65 possessions.

The Cyclones entered the building No. 2 in the NCAA in turnover margin and No. 3 in turnovers forced and lived up to their reputation.

"We take a lot of pride in guarding the basketball and pressuring the ball, trying to cause teams to play at a speed a little faster than normal," Otzelberger said.

It was a season-high in turnovers. Oddly, in previous high turnover games against BYU (19) and Merrimack (18) UC had won. The 25 turnovers against the 10th-ranked Cyclones were 17 more than they had against No. 3 Houston.

"We can sit here and talk about the kids that we're playing but the onus has to go to me," UC coach Wes Miller said. "We've got to have our team more prepared. We come out there and turn it over 25 times. I've got to do a better job. Our staff's got to do a better job."

2. Cyclones whirl late in 1st, early in 2nd

UC had two brief leads in the game for a total of 1:23. One was nearly 10 minutes into the game at 13-12, the second came with 4:19 left in the opening half, 24-23. From there, they were outscored 11-2 as Iowa State held them to one Day Day Thomas lay-up in the final seconds. It was the 10th time in the last 12 games UC has trailed at halftime.

The Cyclones then started the second half hitting three of their first four shots to go up by 15, 41-26. It would be UC's worst Big 12 loss, albeit still in single digits. UC's seven league losses have been by a total of 29 points.

"We're in a league where it can be really good and feel great like it did down at Texas Tech, or it can feel like you're down in the dumps," Miller said. "The goal from day one was to not get on a rollercoaster and stay steady. That's hard when you go through a tough stretch."

3. UC can learn from losing vs. swarming pressure

Wes Miller was hotter than a match after the game but did say his team can take away something from the NCAA top defenses of Houston and Iowa State

"You try to learn from everything," Miller said. "It's really damn hard when you get your butt kicked. You struggle, you embrace it and learn. That doesn't mean it feels good. That's how I'm going to approach it as a head coach every single day. There's no jumping off the bridge, there's no putting my head down. I'm pissed. It hurts. But, you embrace it and you learn."

4. Not much to post about post players

The tough luck for Viktor Lakhin continues as he had his third scoreless game of the last four playing just nine minutes. Aziz Bandaogo was held to one free throw, though he had seven rebounds.

The most effective post player of late has been Jamille Reynolds who had five points and six rebounds and was one of the rare Bearcats who had a positive plus/minus rating after the game.

5. Some numbers are deceiving

UC did outrebound the Cyclones 38-24. Thus far, only TCU, Oklahoma and Houston have beaten UC on the boards. Also, the Bearcats were 9-of-23 from the arc for 39% compared to Iowa State's 5-for-18 for 27.8%. They held Houston to 19% from the perimeter but both games were painful losses.

Common in the two defeats was the Bearcats were defeated in the paint (38-22 vs. Houston and 36-14 vs. Iowa State).

Next game

The Bearcats go to Orlando for a Saturday afternoon tip at 4 against UCF. If the Knights can maintain an NCAA NET ranking of 70 or less, it would be yet another opportunity for a Quadrant 1 win. They only lost to No. 19 BYU 90-88 Tuesday and came into the game at No. 67.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big 12 basketball: Lessons from Cincinnati Bearcats loss to Iowa State