JayhawkSlant.com caught up with Bill Seals, publisher of CycloneReport.com, to get his thoughts on tonight’s game.
No. 9/10 Kansas and No. 2/2 Iowa State will tipoff from Hilton Coliseum at 6:00 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
1) What’s been the biggest key to Iowa State’s impressive (14-1; 4-0) start?
I believe it’s a combination of a few different factors. This is still the same solid defensive team under TJ Otzelberger, but for the first time in his four seasons as head coach, he has an elite offense to go with it. Iowa State and Duke are the only teams nationally ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency by KenPom. At the forefront is the Cyclones’ experienced backcourt. Keshon Gilbert, Tamin Lipsey, and Curtis Jones are all back from last season. With a veteran backcourt, they’re one of the best in the country at taking care of the ball, as just 14 percent of their possessions end in turnover, good for 14th-best nationally according to KenPom.
Gilbert has increased his scoring average as a senior and seems to be taking over the lead guard responsibilities, with Lipsey switching over to the two. Jones should be considered the top sixth man in the country and is actually the team’s leading scorer at 17.3 points per game. He’s scored at least 20 in three of four conference games. The unselfish Jones has been happy to let sophomore Milan Momcilovic start games and then begin making his impact a few minutes into each game. Another is a retooled and much more dynamic group of post players Otzelberger added in the transfer portal.
Saint Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson is the most skilled big man Otzelberger has had in his four seasons at the helm and has added a new dynamic. He’s been named Big 12’s top newcomer in each of the past two weeks.
2) I think I know the answer to this, but what are you expect expecting the atmosphere to be like tomorrow night? Will students be camping out?
The students began camping out over the weekend, so that’s already begun. It will be another tremendous atmosphere in Hilton Coliseum, and that’s with second semester classes not set to get back underway until this Monday.
3) What do you think the biggest keys are for Iowa State and who are some players to keep an eye on?
Although this team has shown it can win in a variety of different ways this season, perennially, the recipe for success for Iowa State is to force live ball turnovers and get out in transition for easy baskets. When in the half-court, they thrive on getting the ball into the lane and getting high-percentage looks with Gilbert and the group of post players led by Jefferson. When that isn’t there, usually it can find Jones open somewhere on the perimeter for three. During his breakout season, Jones has raised his 3-point percentage by nearly four points to 39.0%. This is also an offense built on sharing the ball. When ISU is at its best, most buckets are coming off an assist from another player, so they’ll need to keep the ball moving. The Cyclones were beaten on the boards by six in last year’s matchup with the Jayhawks, so they’ll need to try to get that number to as even as possible.
4) How do you see this game turning out?
After KU won seven straight matchups in the series during a transition in head coaches in Ames, this is once again a great rivalry. Wednesday should be another great one in the history of Hilton Coliseum, which has only seen five previous top 10 matchups in history. This will be the sixth, and third against the Jayhawks, and comes two days after Iowa State ascended to a school-record #2 ranking in the AP poll. This is a much more complete and balanced team than the one that beat Kansas by four in Ames nearly one year ago. I expect the Cyclones to take care of business and hold serve at home, winning by a narrow margin to extend their Hilton Coliseum winning streak to 28 games.
