No. 3: Limit the offense of Marial Shayok
A senior transfer from Virginia, Iowa State guard Marial Shayok has been the Cyclones’ player of the year thus far.
If TCU can manage to halt his 19 points per game, it’ll make the task of pulling off an upset on Saturday a whole lot easier.
However, that’s obviously much easier said than done. Bane and Kouat Noi absolutely have to come up big on defense. Unfortunately, neither of those two are particularly known for stifling defense. That is no excuse for coming up short on Saturday.
TCU has to find a way to contain Shayok. Whether it be by putting freshman center Kevin Samuel on him, by double-teaming him, or even by putting their defensive maestro, Robinson, on him, TCU cannot let Shayok go off for a big game.
If Shayok is slowed down, the entire Cyclone offense will lose its flow. On the road in Fort Worth, this makes a much bigger difference than it normally would. Losing the impact of their top scorer will have a major effect on Iowa State as a whole, and it might just be too much for Iowa State to recover.
Ultimately, it is plain and simple. If Marial Shayok is stopped, TCU has a great chance to pull off an upset.
TCU needs a big win on Saturday. With a loss, they’re easily out of the tournament picture for now. With a win, they’re safely in the picture. Saturdays game will define the stretch run for TCU, and they will be in desperation mode all game. Given the desperation and atmosphere, I have a feeling that TCU will sweep the series with the Cyclones.