After an exhilarating back-and-forth game between Iowa State and No. 7 Kansas State Wednesday night, where the Cyclones pulled out the double-overtime win, they will be looking to carry over this win against No. 5 Texas.
Iowa State finds itself taking a trip down to the Lone Star state for a clash with the Longhorns on Saturday. For Texas, it has found the majority of its success from the teams’ offense, as it ranks among the top of the Big 12.
Texas holds the highest-scoring offense in the conference (83) while holding the highest shooting percentage from the field (50%), which has contributed to its 23-3 overall record and 10-3 record in the Big 12.
A big reason for the Longhorns’ high-scoring numbers comes from their star freshman who has emerged as the team’s leading scorer. Forward Madison Booker has averaged 15.8 points per game this season while maintaining the main role of point guard.
Booker does play a similar role to Cyclone forward Addy Brown, where they have the size and are listed as forwards, but have the ability to command an offense.
But for Booker, this was not meant to be the case, as Texas’ main point guard Rori Harmon went down after 12 games with an ACL injury that took her out for the rest of the season.
Another challenge the Longhorns present comes from the general size of their team, as Texas currently has 10 players that have a minimum height of six feet. This length is also attributed to the Longhorns’ stifling defense, as they rank third in the Big 12 in scoring defense (57.3) and fourth in opponent field goal percentage (38.2%).
However, the Cyclones saw this type of size in their win Wednesday night against Kansas State and put up 96 points on the Wildcats.
It will be a different experience despite the similarities between Kansas State and Texas, as the Longhorns currently are riding a five-game win streak while also dominating in Austin, Texas, with a 12-2 record at home.
Iowa State center Audi Crooks believes the win against the Wildcats gave the team the much-needed boost it needed after a two-game losing streak before Wednesday night.
“We needed this,” Crooks said. “It was a nice little notch under our belts just to reassure us that the work we were doing and the preparation wasn’t for nothing. It’s gonna help give us a little more confidence and get our groove back with another big one coming.”
Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly has seen the struggles his team has faced when playing away from Hilton Coliseum but also believes that the win against No. 7 Kansas State puts the team in the right direction.
“We’ve struggled on the road, plus knowing what we have on Saturday, you’re just looking for something positive,” Fennelly said. “But with this win, there’s no question it puts us in a direction that we need.”
The Cyclones will look to make their final trip to Austin, Texas, worthwhile as Iowa State will take on No. 5 Texas at 3 p.m. Saturday. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN2, in addition to the Longhorn Network.
