Fasten your seatbelts folks! It’s going to be one hell of a Monday night of college basketball action, as two Big 12 powerhouses—the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks and No. 19 Iowa State Cyclones—lock horns at the James H. Hilton Coliseum. Which club will reign supreme in this one? Will the Jayhawks stay on the winning track? Or will the Cyclones pull off another huge upset in front of their home crowd?
Read on below for a comprehensive breakdown of this must-see matchup. And if you’re craving for more college hoops action, check out our preview of the Duke Blue Devils vs. Miami (FL) Hurricanes.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ] With four players finishing in double-figures, the Kansas Jayhawks quickly bounced back from a tough loss to Oklahoma State via a nine-point win over the Texas Longhorns on Saturday. Leading the charge was none other than their beloved forward Perry Ellis, who scored a game-high 26 points along with four rebounds and just two turnovers under his belt.
Ellis and co. will now look to keep on rolling when they match up with a formidable foe in the No. 19 Iowa State Cyclones tonight at the James H. Hilton Coliseum. Kansas has won six of the last 10 meetings with its conference rivals, going 5-5 ATS in that span.
Key to the Jayhawks’ triumph will heavily rely on how well Ellis, their top point-getter (16.3 PPG) this season, performs later. He’s been very productive over the past seven games with averages of 18.4 PPG and 7.4 RPG. That stretch includes their triple-overtime win over the Sooners on January 4, wherein Ellis exploded for season-bests of 27 points and 13 rebounds.
It’s worth keeping in mind, though, that the Cyclones are usually at their best when playing at home. That being said, the Jayhawks will really need the pair of Selden Jr. and Mason III to carry some of the scoring load as well. Both can certainly do so as they are posting 14.7 PPG and 13.2 PPG respectively this season.
Over on defense, the Jayhawks will definitely have their hands full in trying to hold off Iowa State’s offense that’s putting up almost 90 points per contest, which is among the highest in the nation. Kansas is allowing 68.2 PPG throughout 19 games.
Betting on the Iowa State Cyclones (15-4, 4-3 Big 12)
After two-straight setbacks to Baylor and Texas, the Iowa State Cyclones have responded with three-straight wins to improve their record to 15-4 overall and 4-3 in conference play, which is good for fourth-place in the Big 12. They can thank their dynamic duo in Georges Niang and Monte Morris for this on-going success.
Niang, the 6-foot-8, do-it-all forward, has been on a rampage in his last five games with averages of 19.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG and 3.4 APG while shooting 48.7 percent from the field. He’s accumulated 17 TOs in that stretch, however. Morris, meanwhile, has finished with 10 or more points in the previous 10 games and is currently the second-leading scorer (15.2 PPG) of the team.
Both Niang and Morris will now strive to stay hot and ultimately guide Iowa State to its fourth-straight victory when the third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks come to town later. The Cyclones are 8-2 SU and 4-4-1 ATS in its previous 10 at home.
In order for them to succeed in doing so, defense will arguably be the deciding factor in this colossal matchup. In particular, the Cyclones will be faced with the challenge of stopping Kansas’ top scorers in Perry Ellis and Wayne Selden Jr, who are putting up 31.0 PPG combined. Iowa State’s defense is giving up 73.7 PPG this season.
Meanwhile, the Cyclones’ Jameel McKay cannot be left out in this one. McKay has been limited below 10 points in his last two games but he’s made his presence felt consistently on the glass this year, boasting a team-high of 9.3 RPG.
