Christian Royston, Sports Editor

No. 2 Iowa State 69, No. 3 Baylor 64

Given Iowa State’s dominance of Kansas State, I am more inclined to side with the Cyclones in this matchup. There is just something about Hilton South.

In Iowa State’s last matchup with Baylor, the Bears barely snuck out with a win, as a last-second shot from Milan Momcilovic came off his fingers just milliseconds too late. What the loss showed me is that Iowa State can beat Baylor if it locks in.

With Iowa State’s offense finally showing back up in the second half against Kansas State, it appears that the Cyclones are locked in. Baylor also looked off against Cincinnati, which bodes well for Iowa State’s hopes at making the finals.

The Bears struggled to separate from Cincinnati until late in the game, and were even trailing through a good chunk of the game. With that in mind, I see Iowa State’s physical and aggressive defense being too much for Baylor to handle and the added pressure of Hilton South to push Iowa State to a win.

Logan Shanks, Assistant Sports Editor

No. 2 Iowa State 71, No. 3 Baylor 63

Considering how well Iowa State did against the Wildcats on Thursday, I have to pick the Cyclones in this matchup.

The offense for the Cyclones looked much better than how they ended the season, as they forced turnovers and scored in transition with ease. Baylor did not look great at the start of its quarterfinal matchup with Cincinnati, but the offense did come alive in the second half much like Iowa State’s did.

If Iowa State continues to stay strong around the perimeter and poke balls loose, that will feed right into the team’s offense, which I see happening in this matchup. While the Cyclones struggled to keep up with the Bears in their regular season matchup, I believe Iowa State is a much better team at this point in the season.

This one is going to look pretty similar to the Cyclones’ last game. Shot for shot through most of the first half, but I believe Iowa State will run away with it and continue to live off its defense that always keeps opposing teams guessing.