PROHMBALL XXXII: Iowa State vs. Oklahoma Big 12 Tournament Game Thread

Game Info

The Opponent: Oklahoma Sooners (24-6)

Tip: Thursday, 8 p.m. CST - Sprint Center - Kansas City, Missouri

TV/Webcast: ESPNU/WatchESPN (John Sciambi - PxP, Miles Simon - Color, Holly Rowe - Reporter)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network (John Walters - PxP, Eric Heft - Color)

Oklahoma SB Nation Site: Crimson And Cream Machine

Getting Up to Speed

Recap: Ellis, Kansas Take Down Tough Cyclones - ISU put up a valiant effort in Allen Fieldhouse, but fell in the final few minutes with a final score of 85-78.

Big 12 Tournament Preview: We're Talking Oklahoma - The Cyclones split with OU during the regular season and both games proved very entertaining.

Scouting The Enemy: Iowa State Cyclones Edition - Crimson And Cream Machine notes that even though ISU is the 6-seed in the Big 12 Tourney, they are one of the most talented teams in the league.

Iowa St.-Oklahoma Preview - Tonight, it's the best player in the country against the best Big 12 Tournament team of the past two years.

Prediction

As much as some people think losing early in the Big 12 Tournament could help Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament, Steve Prohm's crew has made it clear that their mission is to win a third straight conference tournament title. To do that, they'll likely have to go through Oklahoma, West Virginia and Kansas if seeding holds true throughout the duration of the tourney. That's an absolutely crazy stretch of games to play, let alone win, in three days for a team as thin on the bench as ISU.

However, don't tell that to the legions of Cyclone fans who are currently down partying in Kansas City. The legend of Hilton South continues to grow, and if Iowa State continues to play as well as they have the last couple years in KC, the hotel rooms, gas money, ticket costs and dollars dropped on alcohol will all be worth it again for a fanbase that's provided a great deal of support for their team in the postseason.

Keeping Buddy Hield in check for a third straight game isn't going to be easy for Matt Thomas, but it'll once again be one of the biggest keys to winning for the Cyclones. Limiting the rest of the Sooners from hitting from 3-point land will give Iowa State a great chance to advance to play on Friday night if they can do it, but I'm picking Oklahoma to win in another close, entertaining ISU-OU matchup.

Oklahoma 89, Iowa State 85

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