Fresh off an emphatic win over Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse, the Baylor Bears will look to continue their run to the top of the Big 12 with a win over Iowa State.
In terms of resume building, there may not be a bigger week in college basketball than the one that Baylor just had. Picking up a road win at Texas Tech, the national runner up from a year ago would have been impressive on its own, but Baylor doubled the fun by dominating Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse last Saturday.
The victories extended the Bears’ winning streak to 12 games, and that run includes wins over Villanova, Butler, and Arizona. Baylor has quickly become one of the best teams in the country and a bona fide threat to be the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament in March.
The key for Baylor has been pairing a stingy defense, which gives up the sixth-fewest points in America, with an offense filled with dynamic playmakers. The Bears’ most productive player has been guard Jared Butler, who exploded for 22 points in the win over Kansas on Saturday.
Following those wins, Baylor is returning home with a 3-0 mark in Big 12 play, and they will look to stretch it to 4-0 tonight when they play host to the Iowa State Cyclones. This year has been a bit strange for Iowa State, which is a perennial tournament team but has found itself with an 8-7 record to date, including a disastrous home loss to Florida A&M to wrap up the non-conference schedule.
The Cyclones also have some really good wins on their resume, including a neutral-site victory over Seton Hall in the Battle 4 Atlantis and an emphatic 13 point win over Oklahoma in their last game. The good news for Cyclones’ fans is that the Big 12 is the great land of opportunity for its members, offering plenty of chances for resume-boosting wins throughout the conference schedule.
The problem for Iowa State is that their defense is poor, giving up 71.7 points per game. That could prove to be problematic against a Baylor team that will be amped up to play on its home floor.
How to watch Iowa State at Baylor
- Date: Wednesday, Jan. 15
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Waco, TX
- Venue: Ferrell Center
- TV: ESPN+
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Odds: The Action Network
- Prediction: Baylor
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