Last Time Out

Iowa State made the trip to Morgantown and it went about as expected. The Mountaineers punched Iowa State in the mouth early and the boys in cardinal and gold were never fully able to recover. West Virginia shot 50% from the field while Iowa State continued to not make shots made a giant recipe for disaster. Iowa State fell by a score of 76-61.

About Kansas State

Much like Iowa State, the Wildcats lost a ton of production from last years Big 12 Championship roster. At 9-13 overall and 2-7 in Big 12 play, like the Cyclones. Kansas State struggles to score the ball, averaging 65 points a game which is near the bottom of the entire NCAA. Their offensive efficiency is ranked 172nd according to KenPom and they are just not very good at shooting the basketball. Sound Familiar?

Defensively, they are a top 50 scoring defense only allowing 64 points a game. They have one of the highest turnover rates defensively in the country and they keep opposing offenses from shooting lights out. Something that doesn’t really fit into Iowa State these days.

Player To Watch

Xavier Sneed, we are very familiar with this guy. The senior is averaging 14.8 points per game and is coming off a game in which he scored 23 points against Baylor. Against a team like Kansas State that struggles to score the ball, if we stop Sneed it can be a long night. Kansas State has only won one game in which Sneed has scored below his game average.

What Will Happen

I have a feeling this game with be beautifully ugly for Iowa State. Both teams are struggling, but this is a game that is very winnable and should be won by for Iowa State. The Cyclones have shown they can play well against the teams that are not in the top tier of the Big 12 and this is one of them. String a couple of these games together they can find themselves out of the first day in the Big 12 tournament. (may not be a good thing). Kansas State struggles to score just as much as Iowa State and this one being on the road for them doesn’t really seem to set up well. Give me Iowa State in this one but don’t be surprises if it all blows up in my face and we see an opposite result.

Iowa State- 78

Kansas State- 69

Pick Three

1- Caleb Grill makes a three

2- Tre Jackson hits the most three pointers

3- Cyclones shoot above 40%

Game Notes

The Matchup: Iowa State (9-13, 2-7 Big 12) vs. Kansas State (9-13, 2-7 Big 12)

Where: Ames, Iowa - Hilton Coliseum (14,384)

When: Saturday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m. (CST)

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

TV: ESPN2Talent: Mark Neely (PxP), Jon Sundvold (Analyst)

Webcast: WatchESPN

Sirius/XM/Internet: NA/375/375 (internet)

Live Stats: Cyclonestats.com