The Iowa State Cyclones will play the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals on Friday. Tip-off from Kansas City is at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Kansas (26-6 SU and 15-17 ATS) beat West Virginia in the quarterfinals. The Jayhawks are 4-1 straight-up in their last five.
Iowa State (19-12 SU and 16-15 ATS) defeated Baylor in the quarterfinals. The Cyclones are 2-3 straight-up in their past five games.
The Jayhawks and Cyclones split their regular-season games. In the first meeting, KU won 62-60 at home, shooting 45.8 percent and ho lding ISU to 38.3 percent. The Cyclones won the rebounding battle, collecting 13 offensive rebounds, but it wasn’t enough. In the second meeting, ISU won 68-53. Iowa State shot 45.9 percent and held Kansas to 38.6 percent. The Cyclones led by as many as 19 points and only trailed by one.
Iowa State beat Baylor for the third time this season, and in consecutive games, on Thursday. Are the Cyclones primed for a Sweet 16 or better run in the tournament?
ISU shot 49.2 percent versus Baylor and demolished the Bears on the glass with a 44-17 rebounding advantage, including 21 offensive rebounds. The Cyclones trailed by three points at halftime but rallied in the second period, outsourcing BU 40-31.
“That was pretty cool.”#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/P1cXeNiVRg
— Iowa State Men's Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 9, 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 from 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.
No House Advantage: Bet on player over/unders VS THE HOUSE to 21x your bet OR play in PICK 'EM contests against other people! Click here to get a 1st deposit match up to $100 1st w/ promocode WandW!