The Iowa State Cyclones and Baylor Bears will take the court Thursday for a Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals matchup. Tip-off from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO, is at 12:30 p.m. ET. The Bears are 3.5-point spread favorites and the game total is 134.5 points.
Iowa State (18-12 SU and 15-15 ATS) defeated Baylor in its regular season finale. The Cyclones are 1-4 straight-up in their past five games.
Baylor (22-9 SU and 16-14-1 ATS) lost to ISU in its last game. The Bears are 2-3 straight-up in their last five overall. Freshman guard Langston Love (6.6 PPG) is questionable to play with an eye injury.
Iowa State also won the first meeting between these teams on December 31. The Bears are ahead 24-22 in the series since the schools entered the conference.
Iowa State erased a four-game losing streak with its victory over the Bears last week. The Cyclones have only won five games since mid-January, but those wins did come over ranked teams Texas, Kansas State, Kansas, TCU, and Baylor squads.
Iowa State led by 11 points and won by 15 on Saturday in Waco, shooting over 54 percent from the field and holding Baylor to 35.8 percent. The Bears also missed 18 of their 28 three-point shots. ISU outrebounded BU 36-24. Baylor only led by three points and trailed by as many as 20.
Make a play for a teammate. #Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/PgJfb4cTS0
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 6, 2023
Senior guard Jaren Holmes paces the Cyclones in scoring. This season, he averaged 13.2 points on 39.2 percent shooting. Other players to watch when ISU takes the court are senior guard Gabe Kalscheur (12.7 PPG), senior guard Caleb Grill (9.5 PPG and 4.0 RPG), and senior center Osun Osunniyi (8.6 PPG and 4.0 RPG).
The Cyclones average 68.5 points per contest (266th) and knock down 45.0 percent of their field goals (170th), including 33.6 percent of their three-pointers (221st). They hit 67.2 percent of their foul shots (319th) and average 30.2 rebounds (269th) with a +2.2 rebounding margin. Iowa State is 102nd in offensive efficiency, per KenPom, and 176th in effective field goal percentage (50.8%).
The Cyclones surrender 62.2 points per game on defense (19th), and their opponents shoot 41.8 percent fr om the field (65th), including 33.2 percent from long range (140th). ISU is 5th in defensive efficiency, 110th in assist-per-turnover ratio, and 326th in tempo.
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