Iowa State basketball vs Cincinnati prediction, 3 things to watch

After suffering its first loss of the season, Iowa State men’s basketball will get its opportunity to regroup on the road.

The No. 2-ranked Cyclones are headed to Cincinnati. The Bearcats are set to host Iowa State for a 1 p.m. CT tip-off at Fifth Third Arena. The game will be streamed on Peacock.

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Iowa State (16-1, 3-1 Big 12 Conference) lost in wire-to-wire fashion against Kansas, 84-63, in its previous outing on Jan. 13.

The Bearcats (9-8, 1-3) got their first conference win of the season on Jan. 14, defeating Colorado 77-68 after losing their first three Big 12 games.

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

Despite offensive struggles, Cincinnati is solid defensively

Cincinnati has had a rough start to conference play, but its defense has put the team in position to at least have a chance in the Bearcats’ first four Big 12 games.

Before breaking through in a win over Colorado, they suffered losses against Houston, West Virginia and UCF, but those three games were decided by seven or fewer points. West Virginia and UCF were decided by a single basket.

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According to KenPom, Cincinnati is ranked No. 8 in defensive efficiency, which is not far behind the vaunted defenses of Houston, Iowa State and Arizona and ahead of Gonzaga, Vanderbilt, Kansas, Nebraska, Purdue and numerous other top-25 teams.

The Bearcats are allowing an average of 65.9 points per game, fourth-best in the Big 12. They’ve held opponents to shooting 40.9% overall, including a 31.9% clip from beyond the arc.

Cincinnati also excels at generating turnovers, doing so on 20.5% of opponents’ possessions (29th in Division I). It forced 14 or more turnovers in each of its last three games.

FAU transfer Baba Miller and UCF transfer Moustapha Thiam are an impressive defensive tandem up front and both are tough on the glass. Former West Virginia starter Sencire Harris is a great defender at the guard position and has bolstered the Bearcats since transferring to Cincinnati.

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