Baylor vs Iowa State: 2019 Big 12 Tournament game preview, TV schedule
By Chris Kern
We have a good matchup in the Big 12 Tournament between two NCAA Tournament teams. The Baylor Bears and the Iowa State Cyclones meet up in the four/five matchup on Thursday afternoon.
TV Schedule: March 14, 12:30 PM ET. ESPN2
Location: Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri
Both of these teams are looking like they will be in a spot where a potential second-round matchup will come against either a one or a two seed. If they want to get out of that they will need to make a run in the Big 12 Tournament and that starts with a win in this game.
The Baylor Bears have lost two straight games but there still isn’t the level of concern for them that there is with the Iowa State Cyclones. Iowa State developed way higher expectations throughout the season while Baylor, on the other hand, has already exceeded expectations by making the NCAA Tournament and finishing fourth in the Big 12.
Baylor swept the regular season series as they won both games by a combined seven points. The first meeting was in Waco as Makai Mason scored 25 points to lead the Bears to a 73-70 win and they also still had Tristan Clark in that game. The win in Ames was even more impressive as they did it without Clark while Mason had one of his worst games of the season. Jared Butler had 17 points and Freddie Gillespie had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the 73-69 win.
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Iowa State has a lot of things they need to figure out heading into the NCAA Tournament and the Big 12 Tournament is their last chance. They have lost five of their last six games since picking up a big road win against Kansas State. Their final game of the regular season was a home loss against Texas Tech but they were competitive for the most part.
The Cyclones need consistency out of their key players going forward and they need that in this game if they want to advance to the semifinals on Friday. Marial Shayok has been one of the best players in the conference but outside of him, there have been some struggles. They need guys such as Lindell Wigginton and Nick Weiler-Babb to play well to get this win.
Baylor is a team that isn’t super reliant on one guy like Iowa State is. Mason has been a fantastic addition as a graduate transfer from Yale but the majority of the roster is new from a year ago. This team needs some of the older players to contribute consistently the rest of the season especially King McClure and Mark Vital. If those two play like they’re capable of then I expect the Bears to get back to their winning ways, starting off with the Big 12 Tournament.
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The first two meetings were very close so we can expect another very close matchup as well. Both teams will need to come out with a sense of urgency if they want to win this game. it’s the early game in Kansas City on a Thursday which can sometimes be hard to get ready for. I expect both teams to play better than they did this past week but in the end, Iowa State’s talent will be just enough for them to secure a win.