Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament Baylor vs. Iowa State Preview
Here is everything you need to know about Baylor and Iowa State in our Bears vs. Cyclones Big 12 Tournament men’s basketball semifinal preview.
Game 9: No. 3 Baylor (23-9) vs. No. 2 Iowa State (24-7, 13-5)
Time, TV: 8:30 p.m. CT, Thursday, ESPN/ESPN2
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, MO
Season series (Baylor 1-0): Baylor def. Iowa State, 70-68 (at Waco, Texas)
Big 12 Tournament Results: Baylor: def. Cincinnati 68-56; Iowa State: def. Kansas State, 76-57 (quarterfinals).
Winner: Advances to the Big 12 championship game on Saturday at 5 p.m. against the Game 11 winner between Texas Tech and Houston.
Here is the full Big 12 men’s tournament schedule and results.
Projected starting lineups
Baylor: F Jalen Bridges, C Yves Missi, G Jayden Nunn, G Ja’Kobe Walter, G RayJ Dennis.
Iowa State: G Tamin Lipsey, G Keshon Gilbert, F Tre King, F Robert Jones, F Milan Momcilovic.
Players to watch
Baylor
Jalen Bridges
The forward has spent his entire career in the Big 12, starting with the 2020-21 season with Bob Huggins and West Virginia. After two seasons with the Mountaineers, he took advantage of the looser transfer rules and moved to Baylor. His game as a scorer has quietly developed. He’s gone from being more of a jump shooter early in his career to an experienced driver to the basket who has expanded his range consistently to the 3-point line. Every season in college basketball, his scoring average has gone up, culminating with his 11.7 per game this year, along with 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He’s now a sniper from distance after firing 40% from the 3-point line this season.
Iowa State
Robert Jones
The stalwart forward had an impressive game against Kansas State on Thursday, as he pumped in 18 points in 29 minutes and, at times, proved nearly impossible for the Wildcats to deal with. He’s one of those quiet players who punches the clock every game and produces, whether it’s points, rebounds, assists, blocked shots, or just the “Big Rob Energy” he’s become famous for in Ames. He’s averaging 8.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists on 60.2 percent shooting. But his value goes far beyond the stat sheet. When the Cyclones need leadership, he’s who they turn to.
Key storylines
Baylor
Bear coach Scott Drew had to start over with a relatively new crew, with two of the country’s top freshmen playing key roles — Ja’Kobe Walter and Yves Missi. Transfers RayJ Dennis and Jayden Nunn joined holdovers like starter Jalen Bridges and backup Caleb Lohner. As always, Drew figured out how to find success. He trusted Walter and Missi to be starters early, and they delivered. He kept Langston Love (who remains day-to-day with an injury) on the bench, and he emerged as one of the league’s better sixth men. Bridges had his best college season. Drew maxed out what he had, overcame a three-game losing streak in January — which included a three-overtime loss to TCU — and managed to claim a double-bye in the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor wasn’t sharp to start its quarterfinal game with Cincinnati, but the Bears got there when it counted.
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. In the second half against Kansas State, the Cyclones’ defensive energy destroyed any chance the Wildcats had of winning that game. It was a reminder of just how stifling Iowa State’s no-middle defense can be.
Prediction
Iowa State 71, Baylor 66. Baylor was the one double-bye team to struggle on Thursday. The contrast in this game will be striking — Iowa State’s no-middle defense vs. Baylor’s extended 2-3 zone. The Cyclones will get it right this time.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
