Frank Lorenzo
(17) Texas Longhorns at (9) Iowa State Cyclones (-3.5)
Two Big 12 teams that need to bounce back from weekend losses meet on tonight as the Texas Longhorns (14-5, 3-3 Big 12) clash with the Iowa State Cyclones (14-4, 4-2 Big 12) at Hilton Coliseum in Ames (9:00 p.m. Eastern).
Texas dropped a home game to the Big 12-leading Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday, 75-62, despite sophomore guard Isaiah Taylor scoring 23 points.
After the game, head coach Rick Barnes was upset with aspects of the team’s defense.
“We’re one of the best shot-blocking teams in the country. That also tells you our perimeter guys are getting beaten a lot. Our guard play has got to be better,” said Barnes.
Tonight, the Longhorns will have a chance to rebound against a Cyclones team that shoots just 34% from beyond the arc. They will need to pay close attention to Iowa State guard Naz Long, though, who has put up 120 threes this year and is hitting at just over 40%.
Long couldn’t lead his Cyclones past the lowly Texas Tech Red Raiders this weekend, however. Texas Tech was 0-6 in Big 12 play coming into the game, but edged out Iowa State, 78-73, in Lubbock. The loss was the second straight on the road for the Cyclones, who are just 4-3 in their last seven, overall.
Iowa State was woeful from the three-point line against Texas Tech, hitting on under 20% of its shots from deep (while the Red Raiders shot 45% from three). That proved to be the difference in the game, as Iowa State actually shot at a higher percentage from the field, was level on rebounds, and committed fewer turnovers.
The Cyclones are 3.5-point favorites in the odds. Texas is 1-4-1 ATS in its last six games on the road against Iowa State.
(Photo credit: alison fayre (Flickr: Avery Bradley) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.)
