Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Kansas State vs. Iowa State Preview
Here is everything you need to know about Kansas State and Iowa State in our Wildcats vs. Cyclones Big 12 Tournament men’s basketball quarterfinal preview.
Game 9: No. 10 Kansas State (19-13) vs. No. 2 Iowa State (24-7, 13-5)
Time, TV: 6 p.m. CT, Thursday, ESPN2
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (Tied, 1-1): Iowa State def. Kansas State, 78-67 (at Ames, Iowa); Kansas State def. Iowa State, 65-58 (at Manhattan, Kan.).
Big 12 Tournament Results: Kansas State: def. Texas, 78-74 (second round); Iowa State: Tournament opener.
Winner: Advances to the Big 12 semifinals on Friday at 8:30 p.m. against the Game 10 winner.
Here is the full Big 12 men’s tournament schedule and results.
Projected starting lineups
Kansas State: F Arthur Kaluma, C Jerrell Colbert, G Tylor Perry, G Dai Dai Ames, G Cam Carter.
Iowa State: G Tamin Lipsey, G Keshon Gilbert, F Tre King, F Robert Jones, F Milan Momcilovic.
Players to watch
Kansas State
G Dai Dai Ames
Wednesday’s Big 12 Tournament game may have been a coming-out party of sorts for the freshman. For most of the season his growth has been measured incrementally and for a true freshman that can come in fits and starts. But in the second half against Texas, Ames was as key as Tylor Perry or Arthur Kaluma. He finished with 10 points, most of which came in the second half. His coach, Jerome Tang, was thrilled to see no turnovers next to Ames’ 28 minutes on the floor. It’s the kind of mature game he’s been hoping for here in Kansas City. Tang said “He’s not afraid” when asked about Ames. He showed no fear on Wednesday.
Iowa State
Tamin Lipsey
The Cyclones needed their top freshman from a year ago to improve and improve he did. He grew into an All-Big 12 First Team performer and one of the best defenders in the league. He was a facilitator his freshman year. This year he grew into a scorer, and the improvement was no more apparent than at the 3-point line, where he went from being a 20% shooter in 2022-23 to a 36.5% shooter in 2023-24. He ended up with regular-season averages of 12.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.8 steals. Looking ahead to next season, the Ames, Iowa, native is a candidate to be the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year.
Key storylines
Kansas State
Tylor Perry says that Kansas State is an NCAA Tournament team. Well, if you look at Bracketology the Wildcats are firmly on the bubble. If you look at another recent historical number, they should be in. Lukas Harkins of Heat Check CBB noted that Kansas State entered the Big 12 Tournament with at least three Quadrant One wins and no Quadrant Three or Four losses. No team has amassed those credentials and failed to make the NCAA Tournament in the NET era. So either Kansas State is already in or they’re going to make some history. But, with each game the Wildcats win in Kansas City, they can make their case stronger.
Iowa State
There was no question the Cyclones would play defense at a T.J. Otzelberger level. The question was whether the offense would finally catch up? It wasn’t evident right way. Back-to-back losses to Virginia Tech and then-No. 12 Texas A&M threw some of that into question. Dominating Iowa and scoring 90 points in December helped. But once league play started the questions ended. The Cyclones beat Houston at home to even up their league record and up until the final week there was a chance they could have shared the league crown with the Cougars. Lipsey is Iowa State’s most important player, but Keshon Gilbert (13.5 points) is the Cyclones’ leading scorer and five players shoot better than 32% from the 3-point line. This team is built for March.
Prediction
Iowa State 71, Kansas State 66. Kansas State beat Iowa State just five days ago. You better believe the Cyclones are gonna remember that. Kansas State will stay in this one, but the Cyclone will pull away with some key stops.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
