#8 Iowa State (17-4) at #16 Kansas (15-6)

Iowa State travels to Allen Fieldhouse to take on Kansas after both teams lost on Saturday in stunning ways. The Cyclones were run off their home court against a sub-.500 Kansas State team and Kansas blew a 20-point lead at Baylor and lost by 11. Both teams will be hungry for a win after those outcomes, but unfortunately, only one team can win tonight. Iowa State dominated Kansas at home back in mid-January, but they are a different team right now after losing two in a row and in need of some offense with Milan Momcilovic out. As for Kansas, they have been playing better lately but have squandered games that they should have won against the aforementioned Baylor this weekend, and Houston at home last weekend. This should be an interesting game in one of the best environments in the country. 

Outlook for Iowa State:

Iowa State is struggling to find offense right now with Momcilovic out. The flow is not the same, and it has shown in the numbers they are putting up. The Cyclones have not won at Allen Fieldhouse since February 4th, 2017 despite some close ones over the last few years. This one should be another close game and they will want to get over that hump in an arena that Kansas head coach Bill Self has hardly lost in during his career there. Iowa State will need to rely heavily on their guard play from Curtis Jones, Keshon Gilbert, and Tamin Lipsey. Kansas is in the top 40 in both blocked shots per game and defensive field goal percentage, and now with Flory Bidunga playing big minutes, Kansas has great rim protection with him and Dickinson. This will force Iowa State to play much more perimeter-oriented, but Kansas also does a great job guarding the three, with their opponents shooting just 29.6% on the season against them. Some of that has some luck factored into it, but Kansas runs guys off the line and Allen Fieldhouse is never an easy place to play, especially when the Jayhawks are desperate. Iowa State can win this game if they get hot from three, but otherwise, their offense has been too shaky recently for them to generate enough offense on the road. 

Outlook for Kansas:

Kansas will want to get revenge on their blowout loss at Iowa State earlier this year and there is no better place to do it than at home. Despite blowing the game against both Houston and Baylor, they have shown much more promise recently with Bidunga playing big minutes while KJ Adams was out. Adams is back now, but Bidunga played so well that he rightfully earned himself a role for the rest of the season. Kansas has been at its best when it is Bidunga on the floor and not Adams because he brings rim protection and a lob threat on the offensive end that Adams does not provide. Adams is a good player, but Bidunga elevates the Jayhawks. Kansas has gotten their typical production from Hunter Dickinson and transfer, Zeke Mayo, but Rylan Griffen and AJ Storr have been the real busts from their portal season. Those two struggling has put Kansas in the spot they are in with inconsistent offense and perimeter shooting, but if they can start to get going even a little bit, Bill Self’s squad will be right back in the mix with the top teams in the country. As for tonight’s game, Kansas should be able to attack the Cyclones in the paint through Dickinson’s size advantage. Also, they should shoot it better than the 40% they shot last time against these guys since they are at home. Kansas is a different team than they were the last time they played Iowa State and so is Iowa State. Despite Kansas’ blown leads, they are trending in the right direction and Iowa State is not. If Kansas plays through Dickinson and doesn’t settle from the perimeter, they should be able to bounce back with a victory over the Cyclones.

The Final Word:

This feels like a tall task for Iowa State. At tip-off tonight, the Cyclones will be just over 48 hours removed from getting stomped at home against a weak Kansas State team. Now they have to go on the road to Allen Fieldhouse and beat a very good Kansas team behind one of the best atmospheres in the country? Good luck with that. Kansas is trending up and Dickinson and company will be motivated to pick up a high-quality win after letting a couple of others get away from them. The Jayhawks might just win because of the atmosphere alone and the schedule spot for Iowa State. Look for Kansas to bounce back in a big way and take care of business against a reeling Iowa State team.