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

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ESPN’s “College GameDay” is coming to Ames for a basketball game for the first time in 10 years Saturday.

While an exciting opportunity for Cyclone fans, Iowa State men’s basketball is hoping to top off the festive day with a win and break its three-game losing streak.

The Cyclones (17-5, 7-4 Big 12 Conference) welcome TCU for a 11 a.m. CT tip-off at Hilton Coliseum.

Iowa State is coming off of a 69-52 loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. The Cyclones scored their lowest point total of the season and shot a season-low 30.6% overall.

TCU (12-10, 5-6) has had an up-and-down year, but appears to be in the middle of an upswing. The Horned Frogs won back-to-back Big 12 games for the first time this season, entering Saturday’s contest fresh off of wins over Colorado and West Virginia.

Horned Frogs coach Jamie Dixon earned his 500th career win as a head coach after Wednesday’s 65-60 win over the Mountaineers.

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

Jan 22, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas; TCU Horned Frogs center Ernest Udeh Jr. (8) steals the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard AJ Storr (2) during the second half at Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena.

TCU hangs its hat on defense, struggles offensively

The Horned Frogs boast a top 40-ranked defense, according to KenPom.

They excel at generating turnovers, boasting a 19.7% turnover rate that ranks 67th in the country. TCU also guards the perimeter tough, holding teams to shooting just 30.5% from beyond the arc (37th in the nation).

It could be another long day for Iowa State if TCU successfully packs the inside and the Cyclones are unable to connect from deep.

Offensively, this is the worst-performing TCU team on the scoring end since Dixon took over as the Horned Frogs’ head coach in the 2016-17 season.

It didn’t help that starting point guard and two-way contributor Frankie Collins went down with a season-ending foot injury after playing in just nine games.

TCU enters Saturday ranked 180th in the country for offensive…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-state-basketball-3-things-183348966.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-02-06 18:33:00

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