Pavle Markovic, Sports Reporter

Iowa State 75, No. 19 Oklahoma 73

I’ll admit it: I doubted the Cyclones in their last game against No. 17 Baylor. I did not expect this Iowa State team to sweep a Bears team that has been longing for revenge since they went into Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 13 and were upset.

While the game itself was not ideal, the Cyclones showed their ability to close games out in the right ways and took down Baylor yet again to advance to the semifinal round of the Big 12 Tournament.

Now, Iowa State finds itself in yet another rematch, as this time the Cyclones will be looking to enact revenge. No. 19 Oklahoma previously bested Iowa State in Ames, Iowa, which gave the Cyclones their only conference loss at home.

Now, with it being on neutral ground in Kansas City, it will no doubt be a dogfight between two teams looking to make it to the finals.

In what I have to be a thriller that goes all the way down to the final buzzer, Iowa State gets revenge against the Sooners and the Cyclones will book their trip to the conference championship game for the second year in a row.

Brett Twelmeyer, Sports Reporter

No. 19 Oklahoma 72, Iowa State 71

Call me the bad guy. Yes, I picked Iowa State to upset No. 17 Baylor, but No. 19 Oklahoma is a better team.

The Sooners stomped Iowa State in Ames this season 86-72, and it was one of the only times center Audi Crooks was held in check. I will say, the Cyclones have impressed me quite a lot with this late-season run they have been on.

The Cyclones are a much better team than two months ago when they first played Oklahoma, riding a six-game winning streak. However, there were times against Baylor the Cyclones did not look like themselves.

If Oklahoma can press Iowa State the way Baylor did and actually make shots on offense, it might be a long day for the Cyclones. With the extra day to prep, Iowa State will likely be ready but so will the Sooners.

The Sooners did lose to Kansas in their regular season finale, but it was a game that they did not need to win for seeding purposes. Oklahoma was already the Big 12 regular season champion.

This rematch will be an incredible game. So much is at stake for both, with Iowa State trying to win the Big 12 with such a young team and Oklahoma trying to take the crown on its way out of the conference after this season.

The offenses are elite for both teams, which is why the game will be won on defense. I expect a tight battle all the way to the buzzer with Oklahoma getting the slight edge.