Storm warning: Déjà Vu in Kansas City

There’s nothing like KC in March. 

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After ending their regular season campaign against Arizona State, the Cyclones will be back for seconds as they will face the Sun Devils once again in the Big 12 tournament. In a tale of two halves, Iowa State rode a 24-0 run to takedown Arizona State 86-65 less than a week ago. While this game will be designated as a “neutral” site, but as the greater Big 12 audience already knows, ASU will have to prepare for another road-like environment as the T-Mobile center becomes Hilton South. 

First half: Less than ideal

From the jump, the Sun Devils and Cyclones became intertwined throughout much of the first half. Tied at 24, the largest lead through the first 13 minutes was just four. Iowa State proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to take a nine point lead with 3:46 to go after a Bobby Hurley technical foul. That technical foul creatde a spark for ASU, as they finished the half on a 15-2 run to close the half and retake the lead as the teams went to the locker rooms. 

This slow and sluggish start was not what the Hilton crowd wanted or expected. Iowa State hadn’t played a genuinely impressive game since the Houston game, and that was many moons ago. Fortunately, the second half was a bit better.

Second half: More ideal 

The jury is still out, but I think that a 24-0 run is good when you are the one scoring. 

Indeed, Iowa State started an avalanche of scoring on the Sun Devils in the second half, knocking down five from beyond the arc and forcing seven turnovers in the midst of a Sun Devil drought that spanned over ten minutes. While a 24-0 run is obviously very enjoyable, the best part was that it occurred while playing the exact playstyle that TJ’s squad should be playing. Lots of pressure on the ball on the defensive side, getting breakaway layups, and knocking down open threes. Iowa State’s big three of Lipsey, Jefferson, and Momcilovic all registered 16 points a piece, with Pleta and Batemon both ending their days with over 10 points. 

With the two teams playing so recently, I believe that this game is a very obvious potential indicator for their game Wednesday at 11:30 AM. Hopefully their tournament game against the Sun Devils will go a bit better than the women’s side, but this is how they will have to do it. 

1. Turnovers, all the time (defensively please). During conference play, Arizona State commits the second most turnovers in the Big 12. Iowa State nets the most steals per game in the conference. Iowa State forced 23 turnovers on Saturday. You do the math. 
2. Let it rain from deep. ASU has the third worst three point defense in the conference, and Iowa State has the second best three point percentage. Again, you do the math. 
3. Don’t get thrown off by the new court. Naturally one of the big headlines about the tournament is the new court, but there may be an advantage to having a game in hand with the new court. On the women’s side, there were five games where a team played the previous day, and beat a higher seeded team in their first game. There were just three of such games in the previous two tournaments combined. 

Prediction: Iowa State 81 – ASU 67

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