Longhorns' Tyrese Hunter Returns to Iowa State Amid Forgettable Slump
The No. 7 Texas Longhorns visit the No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones in Ames on Tuesday night for a matchup that was already fixing to be heated due to the rank of each team and the nightly competitiveness the Big 12 always seems to bring.
But with the return of former Cyclone guard Tyrese Hunter, who transferred to Texas this past offseason, the energy at James H. Hilton Coliseum will likely reach some new emotional heights. Get ready to hear boos every time Hunter touches the ball.
Yet, based on Hunter's performance the past few games, Tuesday isn't projecting to hit revenge-game like expectations. Even calling it "revenge" might be a bit of a stretch, as Hunter played just one season in Ames before winning Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Instead, it's the Cyclones who will be looking for revenge against Hunter and kick him while he's down. He's averaged just 3.6 points over his past three games, which included a goose egg on the scoreboard behind 0 of 4 shooting in the 72-70 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday.
"I think he’ll find his groove here at the right time, he's too good a player not to," Texas coach Rodney Terry said. "He’s a high-level player and he's a guy that that we have extremely high expectations for and I know he has high expectations for himself."
Hunter scored a season-best 29 points in the 116-103 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats on Jan. 3, though this could be considered a bit of an inflated scoring mark since Texas was in comeback mode for the entire game. Take away that scoring effort in the shootout loss, and he's scored in double figures just once since Dec. 9.
A return to his old stomping grounds could potentially prove to be exactly what Hunter needs to get back to the level he was at when the season started. He scored in double figures in the first seven games of the season before the significant drop-off came.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that he's gonna close out this season on a very high note," Terry said.
The Longhorns (15-2, 4-1) and Cyclones (13-3, 4-1) tip-off at 7 p.m. CT.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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