Death, taxes and Kansas. The No. 1 Jayhawks clinched their 12th straight Big 12 championship with a resounding 30-point win over Texas on Monday. Three players scored in double-figures for the Jayhawks who will look to extend their 10-game winning streak against No. 21 Iowa State this coming Saturday.
Who will emerge victorious in this critical showdown? Read on below for an in-depth breakdown of this Big 12 matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our previews of Oklahoma vs. TCU and California vs. Arizona.
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones (21-9, 10-7 Big 12)
Iowa State extended its winning streak to two games with an impressive 58-50 win Monday over the Oklahoma State Cowboys. The victory kept alive the Cyclones’ hopes of grabbing the fourth seed in the Big 12 tournament as they are now tied with Baylor and Texas in the team standings with all three teams carrying similar 10-7 conference records.
Leading the way for Iowa State in this ballgame was Georges Niang. The senior excelled in his final home game, scoring 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds and four assists. Niang has been a vital cog to the Cyclones’ success this season, averaging 19.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. This year, Niang became one of just nine players with 2,000 points, 600 rebounds and 400 assists in the past two decades.
Providing support to Niang was the pair of Abdel Nader and Jameel McKay. Nader had a game-high 19 points and five rebounds while McKay scored six points and grabbed 10 rebounds. They have been the stalwarts for the Iowa State frontcourt this season, combining for an average of 25 points and 14 rebounds per game this campaign.
Key to the Cyclones’ win against the Cowboys was their sticky perimeter defense. The Cyclones held the Cowboys to just 4-of-27 shooting from beyond the arc. They will have a much harder time, though, defending against a Kansas side that is second in the entire nation in three-point field goal percentage, shooting at a high 43 percent clip.
The Cyclones will take heart in the fact, however, that they have already beaten the Big 12 champs this season. Iowa State defeated Kansas, 85-72, on January 25 behind the heroics of Monte Morris. He scored 21 points, grabbed seven boards and handed out three assists in that win.
Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks (26-4, 14-3 Big 12)
There’s just no stopping the Kansas Jayhawks right now.
Kansas wrapped up its 12th consecutive league crown with a comprehensive 86-56 victory over the Texas Longhorns on Monday night. It has been an incredible run for the Jayhawks who won the outright Big 12 regular-season basketball crown for the third straight season.
With the way this team is playing right now, it isn’t far-fetched to see this current Kansas squad end up as national champions as well. They were simply unstoppable against the Longhorns with the Jayhawks leading from start to finish. Perry Ellis led all scorers with 20 points while Frank Mason III followed closely behind with 14 markers of his own. The Jayhawks were lights out from the field, shooting at an incredible 64 percent clip. The Jayhawks were dominant especially from beyond the arc, where they nailed 11 of their 16 three-point attempts. They have made 10 or more 3-pointers 11 times this season.
The Jayhawks will fancy their chances of sustaining that excellent form against the Cyclones this coming Saturday as they are still unbeaten at home this season. Kansas is 16-0 at Allen Fieldhouse this campaign. In fact, the Jayhawks have won 94 of 99 conference games at Allen Fieldhouse since this crazy Big 12 streak began. That being said, they will have their work cut out for them against an Iowa State side that has dominated their matchup of late. The Jayhawks have lost four of their last five games against the Cyclones.
