recovering from a terrible month entering the break, and

AMES, Iowa -- Iowa States offense has been very solid for stretches this season, and its defense has improved since last season.The problem is that the Cyclones cant get both clicking at the same time and that inconsistency helped knock them out of the Top 25.Iowa State (6-3) was left out of Mondays rankings, snapping a run of 61 straight weeks in the poll, after dropping three of its last four. The Cyclones are coming off one of their ugliest games in years, falling to Iowa 78-64 on the road last week.Iowa State will face instate rival Drake (1-8) on Saturday as part of a doubleheader in Des Moines.This team will be fine. I mean, I know were living off the Iowa game, Prohm said. This team has to play a certain way all the time, and we didnt do that in stretches in the Iowa game.Prohms way includes strong ball movement.For a team with a backcourt led by preseason All-American point guard Monte Morris, the Cyclones have too often failed to make the extra pass that leads to a better shot.A poor assist-to-basket ratio has symbolized Iowa States lack of ball movement in its last two losses. The Cyclones had just five assists in an overtime loss to No. 25 Cincinnati on Dec. 1 and just nine against the Hawkeyes, who entered play with a losing record.Prohm said the key to fixing Iowa States offense is for it to pick up the pace and cut down on what he called freelancing.First and foremost, weve got to start playing in transition. Weve got to get some easy baskets by playing in transition and pushing the tempo, Prohm said. When we run our offense and we execute, we get good shots.The Cyclones have also struggled because Naz Mitrou-Long just isnt shooting very well.Mitrou-Long, who missed most of last season because of lingering issues with his surgically-repaired hips, is shooting just 39 percent from the floor and just 26.7 percent on 3s -- two years after ranking second in the Big 12 in 3s per game. Morris said hes confident that Mitrou-Long will eventually shoot his way out of his recent funk.Its not about how you start. Its how you finish, Mitrou-Long said. Ive put in too much work. These guys put in too much work. Weve beaten ourselves. Me and Monte talk about it every day. If it has to be us against the world, I like our chances.For a program whose expectations have soared in recent seasons, three losses out of four can feel like an epidemic.But things arent as bad as they might seem for the Cyclones.Iowa State rallied from 20 down and was within a Monte Morris 3 at the buzzer from beating No. 8 Gonzaga on Nov. 27. If Mitrou-Longs 3 at the regulation buzzer gone down against Cincinnati, the Cyclones would have won that game as well.Iowa States defense has also been better than its offense, and teams that defend well typically have a chance on the road once league play comes around.But for the Cyclones to get back on track, theyll need the loss at Iowa to be their tipping point.Its a bright future and a bright road down the line. Its tough right now and it might be hard to see for (the media). But there is definitely going to be a change, and its definitely going to get back to normal around here, Morris said.---More college basketball at www.collegebasketball.ap.org Fake Jerseys 2019 . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. Wholesale Fake Jerseys . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. https://www.fakejersey.com/ . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Fake Jerseys For Sale . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Fake Jerseys Outlet . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- One day after Wil Myers returned to face the Rays, another former Tampa Bay player will oppose his former team Tuesday.San Diego Padres right-hander Edwin Jackson, who made headlines for and against the Rays, will oppose Tampa Bay left-hander Blake Snell in the middle game of a three-game series at Tropicana Field.Jackson pitched for Tampa Bay from 2006-08, then threw an unusual no-hitter for the Arizona Diamondbacks against the Rays on June 25, 2010. He somehow walked eight batters in a 149-pitch gem.The 32-year-old veteran opened this season as a reliever with the Marlins (0-1, 5.91 ERA in eight outings), but he has fared well since joining the Padres (3-1, 3.62 ERA in five starts). His last outing saw him scatter two hits over seven scoreless innings while striking out seven in a win against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday.For his career, Jackson is 3-2 with a 2.54 ERA in his career against the Tampa Bay.While Jackson has appeared with 11 major league teams, Snell has made just 11 major league starts. The rookie is 3-5 with a 3.18 ERA and coming off his worst outing of the season, when he lasted only 1 2/3 innings and gave up five runs (two earned) in a loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.Snell has 58 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings, for the best rate in the American League among rookie pitchers with 50 or more innings. His only previous interleague outing was a strong one, when he struck out nine and held the Rockies to one hit in six scoreless innings at Colorado on July 19.Theres been a lot of impressive things about Blake Snell, Rays manager Kevin Cash told MLB.com. His confidence, not to be confused with cockiness -- the confidence and the way he feels he can go out tthere and compete has been so impressive.dddddddddddd The way he acted right after that game is pretty impressive. ... I know hes itching to get back out there.The Rays have had improved starting pitching since the All-Star break, with Mondays starter, Drew Smyly, improving to 3-0 in his past five starts with a 2.25 ERA. He has more wins in those five starts than in his first 18 this season. On Monday, he used a deceptive mix of pitches to leave the Padres hitters guessing.The Rays are 14-15 since the All-Star break, recovering from a terrible month entering the break, and improved starting pitching has been a big part of the turnaround.Snell is just coming into his rhythm as a young starting pitcher, but Smyly said the staff as a whole has built a positive momentum in the past month, one it hopes to continue through the final six weeks of the season.You have to go out there and believe, to execute pitches and expect good results to come, Smyly said. I dont know if its luck, but everything evens out over the course of the season.After giving up three runs in the first two innings Monday, the Padres are looking for a quicker start Tuesday.We just didnt play that well, didnt come out with the intensity we should have early in the game, said Myers, who went 1-for-4. I think we need to do a little better job, me especially -- the whole team needs to do a better job early in the games, because weve been fighting late. But those first few at-bats early in the game are just as important. Thats one thing we need to do going forward, making sure we have more intensity early in the games. ' ' '