Iowa State basketball: 3 things to watch when the Cyclones play Baylor

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Iowa State men’s basketball’s first game to open the new year projects to be a good one, as the No. 3 Cyclones prepare to host No. 21 Baylor in their first Big 12 Conference home game of the season.

The Cyclones (11-1, 1-0 Big 12) extended their winning streak to eight-straight games when it pulled away late on the road to beat Colorado, 79-69, on Monday night.

Meanwhile, No. 21 Baylor (9-3, 1-0) enters Saturday’s game on a four-game winning streak. The Bears beat Utah in wire-to-wire fashion in their conference opener Tuesday night. Baylor built an early 20-point lead in the first half and hardly looked back.

Saturday’s game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. CT tip-off at Hilton Coliseum. It will be broadcast on CBS.

Here are three things to watch for in Saturday’s game:

More: Iowa State basketball: 3 takeaways from Cyclones’ win over Colorado to open Big 12 play

Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey will hope to lead the Cyclones to a win over Baylor on Saturday afternoon.

Battle of balanced offenses

The Cyclones pride themselves on depth and scoring balance. Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones lead Iowa State with 16.3 points per game entering Saturday, but four other Cyclones average double figures in scoring too.

Iowa State’s balance gives opponents a difficult time, as the Cyclones can get baskets from anywhere in their rotation and any player can heat up on any given night.

Baylor is similar, boasting five different players who average at least 10 points per game. The Bears are led by double-double machine Norchad Omier. The 6-foot-7 senior forward is averaging 16.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 61.8% from the floor.

Duke transfer Jeremy Roach missed a couple of games in December due to a concussion but is working his way back into action. He is averaging 12.5 points and 4.1 assists per game.

Impact freshman V.J. Edgecombe, a consensus five-star, top 10 nationally-ranked recruit, has lived up to the hype so far. He is averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-state-basketball-3-things-120346410.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-01-03 12:03:00

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