Kansas and Iowa State are two of the best teams in the Big 12, which can make a strong case as the best conference in the Power 6. This game lost a bit of its luster when both teams lost on Saturday, but both losses were on the road to quality opponents — Kansas at Texas Tech and Iowa State at Oklahoma.
No. 15 Iowa State at No. 9 Kansas
Tuesday, 8 pm ET
TV: Big 12 Network/ESPN+
Record: Iowa State 13-2, 1-2 Big 12; Kansas 12-2, 1-1 Big 12
Spread: Kansas -11.5
Over/Under: 142
Moneyline: Kansas -675; Iowa State +475
Injuries: None announced
Series history: Kansas leads the series, 186-66, and is 96-16 at home
Iowa State at a glance
When a team suddenly changes direction, and no college basketball team has reversed field as dramatically as Iowa State this season, the obvious question is why.
Here, look no further than new coach T.J Otzelberger, a former Cyclones’ assistant who replaced Steve Prohm last March after the Cyclones went 2-22 and lost all 18 Big 12 games a year ago.
Otzelberger has a history here, serving as an assistant to Greg McDermott, Fred Hoiberg and Prohm during successful Iowa State seasons, and he burnished his resumè with a 70-win, three-year run as the head coach at South Dakota State, where he turned Mike Daum into the seventh-leading career scorer in NCAA Division I history before spending the last two years at UNLV.
The most noticeable change in the Cyclones this year is their defensive intensity. They have used harassing, man-to-man half-court pressure to limit opponents to 39.5 percent shooting from the field while picking up 9.5 steals and forcing 17.9 turnovers per game.
TJ Otzelberger has done a helluva job rebuilding Iowa State but being this challenged offensively has to be a bit painful for him. I imagine in a few years he’ll get his offense cranked up. #Cyclones
— Zach Borg (@IceBorg) January 6, 2022
Iowa State took Texas Tech completely out of its offense late in its 51-47 victory over Texas Tech on Jan. 5 by jumping the high pick-and-roll, recovering from its first loss of the season to Baylor four days before.
New players have made a difference, too. Penn State 6-4 transfer guard Izaiah Brockington leads the Cyclones in scoring (17.0) and rebounding (8.1) and is one of five transfers among the top six scorers. Former Jayhawk Tristan Enaruna, a 6-8 wing from the Netherlands, will be ready for this one.
Kansas at a glance
Coaching has not been an issue here since Bill Self took over the Kansas program in 2003. The Jayhawks have averaged 29.5 victories a year in his first 17 seasons and are on pace to do it again.
Senior guard Ochai Agbaji is the focal point of a Kanas offense that averages 83.1 points per game and is shooting 50.4 percent from the field, 37.3 from three-point range.
Agbaji is averaging 20.5 points and 3.1 three-pointers, and at +900 he is tied with two others as the second choice in the current DraftKings’ odds to win the John R. Wooden Award behind Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis (+750). Gonzaga’s Drew Timme and Duke’s Paolo Banchero also are +900.
We have a new favorite to win the Wooden award @BetMGM 👀
+𝟲𝟱𝟬: 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝘀 📈
+700: Paolo Banchero
+800: Drew Timme. Ochai Agbaji
+900: Kofi Cockburn
+1000: E.J. Liddell
+1200: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Bennedict Mathurin pic.twitter.com/N59j8JpPz2— Action Network Colleges (@ActionColleges) January 10, 2022
Aggressive 6-6 junior guard Christian Braun — think a taller version of Kirk Hinrich — gives the Jayhawks another athletic presence at 16.4 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, and he is one of three Hawks averaging at least six rebounds per game.
Kansas attempted to fill its point guard spot with senior transfer Remy Martin, who averaged 19.1 points in each of the last two seasons at Arizona State, but the fit has not been ideal.
Self has started 6-8 forward Jalen Wilson to accompany 6-1 distributor Dejuan Harris in two of the last three games, and Wilson had a season-high 20 points in the loss to Texas Tech.
Facts to know
- Iowa State is the only team to play reigning NCAA champion and current No. 1 Baylor closer than eight points this season, losing 77-72.
- Kansas has swept the season series in each of the last two years after falling to Iowa State 78-66 in the 2019 Big 12 tournament championship.
- The Jayhawks have more Big 12 titles (15) than home court losses (14) under Self. He is 264-14 at home.
Numbers to know
- Kansas has won 14 of the last 15 in the series in Lawrence, losing only 92-89 in overtime on Feb. 4, 2017.
- Iowa State is 9-6 ATS, 0-1 on the road after failing to cover as a 6.5-point underdog in a 79-66 loss at Oklahoma on Saturday.
- Kansas was a 7-point road favorite over Texas Tech on Saturday; Iowa State was a 5-point home favorite over the Red Raiders the previous Wednesday.
The pick: Kansas 75, Iowa State 65.
