Following a win in their rematch against Kansas State, the resurging Cyclones look to avenge another loss they had in the regular season in the team’s Big 12 Tournament semifinal matchup with Baylor.
In what was a reset game for Iowa State following an offensive sleepwalk to end its regular season, the team dominated the Wildcats in a 19-point win to advance in the conference tournament. The Cyclones put together one of their most efficient games of the season, and it came at the right time to beat a team that had just upset them five days prior in their regular season finale.
Iowa State now takes on Baylor, which the team also lost to on the road in the regular season. In that game, the Cyclones’ second-half comeback fell short on a miracle shot from Milan Momcilovic, which was a few milliseconds too slow.
“Obviously we had a hard-fought loss at their place, and they are playing great, I mean they really are,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said.
Baylor is coming into the semifinal matchup off of a 12-point win over Cincinnati, where it erupted in the second half to the tune of 44 points on 51% shooting. Iowa State is also coming off of an impressive second-half performance against Kansas State where the Cyclones had 42 points, connecting on 52% of shots from the field.
Iowa State will be coming off one of its most sound offensive performances as of late. The Cyclones’ 76 points against the Wildcats are the most the team has scored in its last six games.
The Cyclones got back to what worked for them earlier in the season: force turnovers to score points and out-muscle teams on both ends of the court.
Both teams have proven themselves offensively, which makes it even more important for the defense to show out in this battle.
Each showed their ability to lockdown their respective opponents in the quarterfinals. Cincinnati did not score a field goal in the last three minutes of the game and the Cyclones went on several runs in the second half to grab momentum against Kansas State.
In the Cyclones’ first matchup with Baylor, their lack of perimeter defense is what caused them to be down by a dozen going into halftime. The Bears finished the game with 12 3-pointers compared to the Cyclones’ five, all of which came from Keshon Gilbert.
Since then, Iowa State has put the focus on its defense, which helped the team win games during its offensive struggles to end the regular season. The Cyclones have held their opponents under 60 points in three of their last five games and finished the season allowing an average of 64.2 points per game.
Although Baylor finished the season with the fourth most 3-pointers in the Big 12 (140), the Cyclones have locked down from the perimeter to end the season.
With the multiple looks that Iowa State runs defensively, teams have been left guessing how to pick them apart from the outside, which often leads to turnovers and shot clock violations. The Cyclones have held their opponents to 23% shooting from outside in the team’s last five games, forcing teams to push the ball inside where Iowa State can force a turnover.
The semifinal matchup between the Cyclones and the Bears will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. Friday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and will be broadcast on ESPN.
