Iowa State basketball: 3 things to watch when the Cyclones host Arizona in rematch

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What a way to tip off the month of March.

No. 9 Iowa State basketball (21-7, 11-6 Big 12 Conference) returns home after back-to-back losses to host No. 21 Arizona in a marquee matchup of top 25 teams.

There’s a good chance everyone in attendance for Saturday’s game at Hilton Coliseum has not forgotten how the Jan. 27 showdown went in Tucson. The Cyclones were seconds away from victory until Caleb Love sank a miraculous heave from well past half-court to force overtime. The Wildcats rode the momentum and won, 86-75, in overtime.

Arizona (19-9, 13-4) has cooled off a bit. It won on Wednesday over Utah, but it has lost three of its last five games. Before that, the Wildcats won 13 of 14 games to catapult themselves back into the rankings after a rough start to the season.

Saturday’s game will tip-off at 8 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN.

Here are three things to watch for on Saturday:

Turnover, rebounding margins and physicality will be crucial

Obviously, the Cyclones can’t afford a repeat performance of Tuesday night’s loss to Oklahoma State against a more formidable Wildcat team.

Arizona will absolutely punish Iowa State if its performance looks similar to Tuesday’s.

The Wildcats are a physical team, particularly on the glass. They have a gang-rebounding mentality, so it will be vital for Iowa State to box out and limit second-chance opportunities. It will be easier said than done. Junior forward Tobe Awaka had a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double, including four offensive boards, against the Cyclones last month. He’s been rebounding at an elite level this season.

Individually, he ranks in the top five nationally for offensive rebounding rate and in the top 25 for defensive rebounding. He sets the tone for a Wildcat team that likes to hunt for second-chance opportunities. According to KenPom, Arizona is 13th in the country as a team in offensive rebounding rate, winning them on 36.8% of opportunities.

The Cyclones can’t afford another 18-turnover game. In addition to allowing…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/iowa-state-basketball-3-things-114525802.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-02-28 11:45:00

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