AMES — The Cyclones look to extend their four-game win streak with an important road test against No. 19 Baylor Saturday.
Iowa State has won its last four games by an average of 18.5 points per game, including a 30-point win over Colorado and a 20-point win over Cincinnati.
“I think we’re playing our best basketball right now,” junior guard/forward Sydney Harris said. “You know, we had a little rough patch [against Houston], but it happens when we play at home, hadn’t been here in a little bit.”
With the best basketball being played right now for Iowa State, it would be a good time to pick up a marquee win to put the finishing touches on the resume.
Baylor sits at 23-5 on the season and is second in the Big 12 standings with a record of 13-2. With just three games left, Iowa State has only a few more chances to pick up a win like this.
“It would definitely help, probably the team case, as far as the positions that we’re in, and like Bracketology and all that,” sophomore center Audi Crooks said. “I don’t pay too much attention, but sometimes coach Fennelly will slide a comment in from Bracketology.”
The way it stands right now, Iowa State would be an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament as part of the first four, needing to play to get into the real tournament. Although the team does not pay too much attention to the bracket predictions, they still mean something.
“They can read and they follow it, and they listen to all you guys,” head coach Bill Fennelly said. “I just tell them we’re playing important games at the end of the year, and there’s a lot to play for.”
In this case, the Cyclones are matched up against one of the hottest teams in the conference. The Bears have now won seven straight games, including a 10-point win over No. 18 West Virginia.
“I think they’re playing as well as any team in the country right now,” Fennelly said. “They’re like a lot of good teams across the country, and especially in our league. They’re very skilled, and they’re very, very old.”
The Bears have four fifth-year seniors who have played in plenty of big games throughout their career. Not only are they experienced, but multiple different players score at a high level for them.
“They have five or six kids that can average double figures,” Fennelly said. “They have five or six that can guard any position, so that, I think it makes them a team that’s going to be really, really good not just at the end of the Big 12 season, but when we get to the tournament.”
The defense that Baylor possesses is what sets them apart, though. The Bears hold their opponents to just under 60 points per game. They pressure the ball handlers and force 17 turnovers per game.
“They started pressing when the plane landed from their game last night. I mean, we’re gonna get it a lot,” Fennelly said. “They pressed a lot last year, especially the conference tournament game. They’re very physical.”
With fifth-year senior guard Emily Ryan tweaking her ankle in the last game and the status of sophomore guard Arianna Jackson still up in the air, other players will need to step up and help bring the ball up.
The Cyclones beat Baylor twice a season ago, including a 66-63 upset at home when the Bears were ranked No. 4 in the country.
Iowa State will look to pull off another upset at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Waco, Texas. The game will be nationally televised live on FOX.
