Iowa State basketball: 3 things to watch when the Cyclones play Arizona State on Saturday

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For the first time since conference realignment, Iowa State men’s basketball is headed to the Grand Canyon State for a two-game trip against Big 12 newcomers.

The first leg of the road journey will be in Tempe, where Iowa State will play Arizona State on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT.

The Cyclones improved to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in Big 12 Conference play after thrashing UCF and scoring a season-high 108 points in their 108-83 victory on Tuesday night.

As for Arizona State, it is coming off of a big road win at West Virginia on Tuesday, three days after the Mountaineers upended the Cyclones. The Sun Devils upset West Virginia and picked up their first win over a ranked opponent this season.

Arizona State defeated the Mountaineers, 65-57, to break a four-game losing streak and improve to 11-7 overall and 2-5 in conference play.

This will be the first meeting between the Cyclones and Sun Devils since Iowa State won at home, 99-85, in 1987. The Cyclones have ventured to Arizona State one other time, losing to the Sun Devils in 1977.

Saturday’s game will be available on ESPN+. Here are three things to watch for:

Arizona State Sun Devils forward Basheer Jihad (8) shoots during the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum on Jan. 21, 2025.

Arizona State’s balanced attack

The Sun Devils boast five scorers in double figures. This is a team that likes to shoot threes and has a variety of long-range shooters to rely on. The Sun Devils are shooting 36.3% as a team from beyond the arc, which is the fourth-highest in Big 12 and the 64th-best mark in the country.

A lot will hinge on the health of freshman Joson Sanon, who was a five-star recruit coming out of high school. Sanon is the team’s second-leading scorer with 12.8 points, and he is dangerous from the three-point line, where converts at a 47.5% rate.

Sanon is questionable for Saturday’s game. He’s been mostly out of the lineup since the start of the new year due to an ankle injury. Sanon did attempt to return in the Jan….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-state-basketball-3-things-213548994.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-01-23 21:35:00

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