AMES - Taj Manning may not be the kind of player who lights up a box score, but he made his presence felt in a big way Friday night.
The Iowa State forward’s defensive edge drew a pointed shoutout from coach T.J. Otzelberger after the No.
18 Cyclones rolled past Southern Miss 83-57 in their home opener at Hilton Coliseum. Manning finished with a career-high four blocks and kept showing up in the kind of moments that don’t always show up in the scoring column.
“The guy (who) will be the most unheralded, (who’s) probably been the most winning player is Taj Manning,” Otzelberger said after the game before a crowd of 13,930. “He makes play after play defensively, at the rim, in rotation, guarding the basketball.
His minutes are gonna continue to elevate. It’s real hard to keep him off the floor and it’s not always gonna show up with the points, but defensively, he really gives us an indignity and we’re gonna continue to lean into that.”
That kind of work is becoming part of the Cyclones’ identity, even if this group is still sorting itself out. Iowa State is 1-1, and Otzelberger called the team a “work in progress” on the defensive end, where the Cyclones want to build around stops, live-ball turnovers and rebounding.
Tre Singleton gave that formula a major boost Friday.
The Northwestern transfer poured in a career-high 28 points on 10 shots and added a game-high nine rebounds, just missing a second straight double-double in his first two games in cardinal and gold. He had 11 points and 11 rebounds in the season-opening 80-76 loss to Memphis in Sioux Falls, and he made it clear where his focus has to stay.
“Yeah, if I don’t rebound, I’m not gonna play,” Singleton said. “W’eve made that clear, so it’s huge.
If I’m rebounding and being aggressive on the boards, then we have a pretty good chance of winning the game. So that’s a big point of emphasis for me.”
That message is being hammered home across the roster. Iowa State lost the rebounding battle by two against Memphis, then turned it around by outrebounding Southern Miss by 10.
“You have to finish plays on the glass and right now our consistent effort in doing so is not where it needs to be,” Otzelberger said. “There are a lot of balls that hit our hands and go out of bounds, or go through our hands, or we go after it with one hand, (but) finishing plays with two hands is extremely important.
Tre had six offensive rebounds and 11 rebounds in the first game. He had five offensive rebounds and nine (total) tonight.
If he continues to be the leading rebounder, he’ll lead us in minutes played. It’s as simple as that.”
Manning’s night was especially valuable on the defensive end, where he posted the best plus-minus on the team at 31. Ryan Prather Jr. followed at plus-29, Jaquan Johnson was plus-24, and Singleton was plus-23 while logging a game-high 30 minutes.
The Cyclones’ separation came in bursts. Prather and Johnson sparked first-half steals that fueled 9-0 and 11-0 runs, helping Iowa State build a 46-29 halftime lead. Then, after an Otzelberger timeout in the second half, the Cyclones ripped off a 15-0 run that pushed the game out of reach with 9:15 left.
“When we have all our focus on getting defensive stops and we have tremendous pride, you can see it in our demeanor and our body language when we really believe it,” Otzelberger said.
For Manning, that kind of effort is already the standard. It just doesn’t always come with the spotlight.
“Those are the guys we have to have on the floor,” Otzelberger said.
In Other News...
Iowa State Let A Promising Start Turn Into Another Frustrating Finish
Iowa State looked ready to seize control early against Baylor, jumping out to a 10-0 lead and giving the home crowd reason to think this one might follow a different script. Aiden Flora provided much of the spark for the Cyclones, piling up 182 rushing yards and a touchdown, while Hunter Dekkers kept the offense moving with 22 completions on 37 attempts for 256 yards and two scores.
Then the game flipped. A muffed punt by Flora became the opening Baylor needed, and the Bears turned that break into points before taking the lead for good on the way to a 42-31 win. For Iowa State, it was another frustrating reminder that a strong start only matters if it survives the middle stretches, and this one slipped away in a hurry. [Read more 🡒]
Tre Singleton Just Gave Iowa State The Bounce-Back It Needed
After a rough opener, Iowa State finally found some rhythm in an 83-57 win over Southern Miss, and Tre Singleton was at the center of it. He powered the Cyclones with 28 points and nine rebounds, giving them the kind of interior production and energy they had been missing while helping the team settle in on both ends.
The bigger takeaway was the response. Iowa State looked sharper defensively than it did against Memphis, a sign the group was ready to clean up some early-season issues before the schedule keeps moving. The Cyclones now head home to face Southern, where theyll try to build on a performance that felt more like the version of this team they expected to see. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Let Baylor Seize Control With Plays It Couldn't Answer
Iowa State walked into Joe Klandermans first home game as interim head coach and found Baylor in control of the kind of moments that tend to swing Big 12 games. The Bears did enough on both sides of the ball to leave with a 42-31 win, leaning on a defense that produced three sacks and nine tackles for loss even while giving up more than 200 rushing yards.
DJ Lagway was a problem Iowa State never really solved, throwing for 229 yards and two touchdowns while adding 119 yards and another score on the ground. Gavin Freeman helped keep the offense moving with six catches for 60 yards, and Koltin Sierackis fumble recovery for a touchdown was one more play the Cyclones couldnt match as Baylor seized control and held it. [Read more 🡒]