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Eamon Brennan was very complimentary to the Cyclones.
3. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg is really good at his job. There already have been plenty of reasons to think highly of Hoiberg in the three years since he took over at ISU: his ability to coalesce a roster full of transfers (and to take advantage of college basketball's highly active transfer market in the first place) into a real team; his ability to get complicated Royce White to put up the best year of basketball in his life; his highly impressive per-possession statistics, including post-timeout points per possession, a statistic in which his team led the nation in 2011-12. But if you weren't already impressed, Sunday should have helped you along. The Cyclones not only were one of the best 10 offensive teams in the country this season but also were one of the most entertaining, playing a five-out style that was as thrilling as it was effective. On Sunday, they took one of the best (and hottest) teams in the country to the wire, and had Craft not made the first 3 he attempted all game at the buzzer, they would have had a chance to win the game in overtime. The Cyclones are more than relevant again, and Hoiberg is very methodically -- and calmly -- making it so.
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