Basketball Preview: We’re Talkin’ Texas Part II

The Cyclones are down in Austin for another big road game. Iowa State is coming off a win against Oklahoma, and they’re looking to carry that momentum a bit longer. Let’s take a look at today’s bout down in Austin.

Last Time Out

Iowa State badly needed a win on Monday night and they got it, as they took down Oklahoma, 78-61.

Iowa State got off to a slow start and Oklahoma took advantage going up 14-7 early in the first half. The Cyclones battled back to take the lead, and both teams went back and forth for most of the first half. Cam Lard added a few highlight dunks before the half ended and Iowa State went into the locker room with a 37-36 lead.

Iowa State closed out the game down the stretch with great defense and the Sooners never got close again. The good guys improved to 20-8 on the season, hitting the 20 win mark for the 7th time in 8 seasons.

Marial Shayok led the way for the Cyclones with 21 points on the night, and Talen Horton Tucker added in 18 points of his own. No other Cyclone hit double figures as the rest of the scoring was well-balanced.

About Texas

The Longhorns will look to rebound after back-to-back losses, including an 84-83 overtime loss to Baylor this past week. Jase Febres led the Longhorns with 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting with 7 threes, while Courtney Ramey added 17 points on 7 of 11 shooting with 3 triples and a team-high 10 assists for the double-double. Kamaka Hepa and Matt Coleman III each had 11 points to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Texas in the loss, while Jaxson Hayes had 9 points with 3 blocks.

Kerwin Roach II remains suspended for violating team rules, and it’s a big loss considering that he leads Texas in scoring with 14 points per game Texas is averaging 72 points per game on 44% shooting from the field, 34% from behind the arc, and 71% from the foul line this season.

Opponent Player To Watch

As it looks now, Kerwin Roach will not be playing Saturday, and who knows if Dylan Osetkowski has overcome his illness earlier in the week. Normally, those two would be Longhorn players that Iowa State would need to have on lockdown, but I will lean towards Jase Febres. The sophomore guard only scored 3 points in the trip to Ames earlier in the season, but has scored a total of 36 points over the last two games. With Roach out, he appears to have more of a scoring confidence that no one thought he had. A home game could spell big things for him, and Iowa State should be on the lookout.

What Will Happen

Iowa State has won 3 of their last 4 away games, and Marial Shayok sounds like a fire has lit inside of him, knowing his college days are soon to be over. The loss of Kerwin Roach stings for Texas, but there is still plenty of talent up and down Shaka Smart’s roster. That said, any road game really scares me, but I still firmly believe Iowa State is the most talented team in the Big 12 and no game really should be one they are out of. (Yes I know, don’t look back a few games ago.)

I going with the homer pick, but would not be surprised if Iowa State lost this one close. Give me the ‘Clones, but a tight one for most of the way.

The Pick: Iowa State-72 Texas-71

Pick Three

1- Tyrese Haliburton has 10 points and 7 assist

2- Texas crowd will look like they all skipped the game for a rodeo

3- Cyclone Twitter implodes at least twice

Game Notes

The Matchup: Iowa State (20-8, 9-6 Big 12) vs. Texas (15-13, 7-8 Big 12)

Where: Austin, Texas - Erwin Center (16,540)

When: Saturday, March 2, 1 p.m. (CST)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/TuneIn Radio Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

TV: ESPN2 Talent: Lowell Galindo (PxP), Reid Gettys (Analyst)

Webcast: WatchESPN

Sirius/XM/Internet: 81/81/81 (internet)

Live Stats: Cyclonestats.com