Royce White Believes Iowa State Men’s Basketball “Better Than” Last Year

Mar 15, 2012; Louisville, KY, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Andre Drummond (12) blocks the shot of Iowa State Cyclones forward Royce White (30) during the second half in the second round of the 2012 NCAA men

A few days ago, Royce White spoke to the Des Moines Register in a telephone interview and talked about this year’s Iowa State Cyclones making it back into the NCAA Tournament. In his mind, he believes last year’s team is “better than [they] were last year.”

“I say that because of the number of games that they’ve lost on a game-winning shot,” said White, explaining his case.

It’s true, the Cyclones should have been able to finish better than their 22-11 mark and they’re 11-7 record in the conference. In comparison, the team won one more game than a season ago (they also played one more game that season) and finished one game better in the conference.

“And that being the case, this year’s team should be seeded no worse than eight,” White said.

Well, they ended up getting two seeds lower. They received the 10th seed in the West, but still a competitive match-up against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night.

No one really expected the Cyclones to get as high as an eight seed, but most can agree with White that Iowa State has the power to surprise anyone that hasn’t followed them much this season.

“That’s coach [Fred] Hoiberg’s orchestration at its finest,” White said. “They’re hard to defend, especially when they’re facing a team for the first time. It’s a tough prep for an opponent.”

It’s hard to say that this year’s team is better than last by not having a player that led in all five statistical categories or having Scott Chrisopherson that hit 45.6 percent of the 3-point shots. Do you agree with Royce White’s stance or not?

 H/T Indianapolis Star