AMES, Iowa – There have been plenty of good days for Steve Prohm through two-plus seasons heading the Iowa State basketball program, but Saturday against visiting No. 22 Tennessee was not one he will remember with a smile.
His Cyclones, a week after extending their home winning streak against ranked teams to five games in a 70-52 beatdown of No. 8 Texas Tech, trailed the final 27 minutes, 52 seconds in an 68-45 loss to the visiting Volunteers before a sold-out crowd of 14,384 inside fabled Hilton Coliseum.
But the former Northwest Whitfield High School standout and 1992 graduate has found his program, after two straight years with at least one victory in the NCAA tournament, almost in a complete rebuild.
“Make good decisions, do whatever you need to do tomorrow because we’re off, and then you better be ready to compete like crazy Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, because if not, West Virginia can come in here and really pummel you,” said Prohm, whose team was held to the lowest point total in a home game in more than four decades.
The Cyclones returned just one starter and have leaned on freshman Lindell Wigginton, their top signee from their most recent class and the No. 1 player in Canada when he entered college.