Brett Twelmeyer, Sports Editor

Iowa State will fall just short in the title game to Texas Tech

Round 2: Iowa State 81, Cincinnati 73

The first time these two faced, the Cyclones won a tight battle in Ames. Since then, a lot has happened for both squads.

In my mind, Cincinnati will need to rely on Jizzle James to stay competitive in this game. But being that he will be matched up with the relentless defender that is Tamin Lipsey, who made the All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Defensive Team, it’ll be a tough task for him.

Limit James, control the paint and Iowa State will be just fine. This one is simple.

Quarterfinals: Iowa State 74, BYU 70

The lone regular season between these two was a weird game. That’s probably the best way I can put it.

A 21-point lead for BYU melted away, but the Cougars held on for a win to spoil Iowa State’s senior night. Now, Hilton South will be the place for revenge for the Cyclones.

And that’s exactly what I see happening.

If the Cyclones can just see more shots fall at the beginning of the game, they will be just fine. I don’t think BYU will turn the ball over 29 times in this game, but the defense for Iowa State has been strong as of recent.

I like the Cyclones to move to the semifinals in a revenge game.

Semifinals: Iowa State 72, Houston 67

Another revenge game that I have going towards the Cyclones. Remember, Iowa State was without Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert on the road against Houston and nearly pulled off the upset.

Now, in an arena that will likely have more Cyclone fans, and with Jones and Gilbert both expected to play, things should look up for Iowa State.

The key is simply going to be not forcing bad shots, moving the ball and letting the offense work itself out. If the Cyclones give Houston too many points off turnovers, Iowa State could be packing up early.

But I don’t see that happening.

Also, if I remember right, the Cyclones beat the Cougars by 28 in this building a season ago.

Championship: Texas Tech 80, Iowa State 77

Yes, I have the road to the Big 12 Championship ending for Iowa State in the title game, but not with the crown. Like the past two games I predicted, Texas Tech will be on the lookout for a revenge win in this one.

An 85-84 Cyclone win in Lubbock, Texas, was the lone game between these two teams. It was also in overtime.

The Red Raiders I’m sure haven’t forgotten about that, and will use that to their advantage in the championship game. It’s hard to beat a team twice in a season, and it’s also tough to win back-to-back Big 12 Tournament titles.

Iowa State has done that in the past, but I’m a big believer in Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin and this Texas Tech squad. Don’t be surprised if the Red Raiders make a lot of noise this month.

Pavle Markovic, Assistant Sports Editor

Run it back: Cyclones win the championship for second consecutive season

Round 2: Iowa State 78, Cincinnati 69

While the Bearcats will get a game under their belt by taking down Oklahoma State the day before, I believe that getting Cincinnati plays to Iowa State’s favor.

In the regular season, these two teams only played once and the Cyclones came out victorious at home. While it was a close, competitive game, Iowa State still found a way to get the job done.

Now in Big 12 Tournament play, the Bearcats will be looking to get revenge by sending the Cyclones home early. The key to Cincinnati’s success will once again run through James, who scored 25 points last time out.

While I do think that James will get what is his, I do believe that in the end, Iowa State will do what it did to the Bearcats last time, and hold out for a nine-point win to move on.

Quarterfinals: Iowa State 83, BYU 79

We all saw what happened the first time around. 

The Cougars aren’t messing around. They’re coming into the Tournament red hot, winning the last eight games that put them where they are, as the fourth seed and with a double-bye.

I honestly thought that this was going to be the Cyclones spot in the Tournament going into the month of March, but here I am, proven wrong.

There’s no doubt in my mind that this game will be fun to watch. While it wasn’t fun to watch Iowa State go down 21, it still made it entertaining to see that the Cyclones showed fight all the way to the end by forcing two competitive overtimes.

While BYU did pull out the win, I think the tide will turn in Iowa State’s favor this time around, especially with it being at a neutral site in Kansas City and with the Hilton South crowd expected to travel. Give me the Cyclones to pull it out this time, but make it close.

Semifinals: Iowa State 77, Houston 68

Another team that is coming into the Tournament, which also has the Cougars as its nickname, is Houston, who is currently riding a 10-game winning streak.

We saw what happened in the lone matchup between these two teams in February, where the Cougars pulled out a nine-point win at home.

But in that matchup, Iowa State was without its two best scorers in senior guards Jones and Gilbert, but still found a way to keep Houston on its toes.

If it wasn’t for a legacy performance by Cougars guard L.J. Cryer, I believe that the Cyclones would’ve stormed into the Fertitta Center and upset Houston.

But, it did not happen so we move forward with what I have is a rematch in the semifinals, with both teams fully healthy.

With the way I have Iowa State playing heading into this matchup, I believe it can once again beat the top dogs in the conference, only this time, not as big of a beat down and not for the championship, as much as I would’ve liked to see that again. 

Championship: Iowa State 72, Kansas 64

The only team that I have the Cyclones playing in this tournament that they’ve seen twice in the regular season is the Kansas Jayhawks.

Both matchups have seen one team cruise to a win while the other gets completely embarrassed on national television.

It happened when Iowa State beat Kansas in Ames and when the Jayhawks beat the Cyclones in Lawrence.

But that’s usually how the ball rolls for these two programs. If they’re gonna play twice a season, chances are they’ll split and each respective home team will win in front of their home crowd.

Now, this matchup is being played on a neutral court and for the conference title. While it is in Kansas City, I expect both fanbases to show out, with half the arena being red and the other half being blue.

Now while it’ll look like the Jayhawks’ colors, the red half won’t be cheering for Kansas, it’ll be the Hilton South crowd cheering on Iowa State.

But for this matchup, I believed that the Cyclones legitimately could’ve swept the Jayhawks in the season series. They just blew it in Allen Fieldhouse.

That being said, I have Iowa State repeating as Big 12 Tournament champions, by taking down Kansas head coach Bill Self and his Jayhawks to end off a hard-fought conference tournament. 

Cayden Storm, Sports Reporter 

Iowa State gets revenge over Oklahoma State and BYU, but loses to Houston in the semifinals

Round 2: Iowa State 81, Oklahoma State 62

I believe that Oklahoma State will get a victory over Cincinnati, who has had a disappointing season, to set up a matchup with Iowa State. 

The last time the Cyclones and Cowboys faced off was in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and it was Oklahoma State that pulled off the big upset. During that game, Iowa State came out extremely flat and fell behind by 16 to end the first half. The Cyclones showed fight in the second half, but it was too late as they would go on to lose 74-68.

Plenty went wrong for Iowa State on that late February night. It shot just 41.4% from the field, 29.6% from 3-point range and 60% from the free throw line, while also turning the ball over a season-high 18 times. Those numbers look bad enough as it is, but believe it or not, they were even worse in the first half. 

I just don’t see the Cyclones coming out that slow once they get into the tournament. 

The first matchup was just three days after a hard-fought battle with now-No. 2 Houston in which the Cyclones were without senior guards Jones and Gilbert, and was in a pretty sleepy environment as Oklahoma State’s Gallagher-Iba Arena was at about 40% capacity.

I think the Cyclones with three days of rest, in front of what expects to be a pseudo-home game, get revenge in a big way and easily dispatch of a below average Oklahoma State team.

Quarterfinals: Iowa State 78, BYU 72

Waiting for the Cyclones will be another team that they lost to in their lone meeting of the year in the BYU Cougars. 

I’m sure that everyone remembers how the first matchup between these teams went, as it was just a week ago–March 4. In that matchup, Iowa State fell down by 21 points on its senior day before putting together a massive comeback to send the game into overtime. 

It took two overtimes before the Cougars finally prevailed after the Cyclones’ last offensive possession resulted in a last-second sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic shot that had no chance of falling, which spoiled the senior night of six Cyclones. 

Over the last month, BYU has been one of the hottest teams in the country, winning its last eight games of the regular season, but I believe if Iowa State can avoid the first half disaster that it should be able to win a highly-contested game. 

The Cyclones looked like the better team down the stretch of the first game and if they can find a way to keep senior center Dishon Jackson or senior forward Brandton Chatfield on the court to help on the glass, I think that will be what puts them over the top down the stretch.

Semifinals: Houston 73, Iowa State 69

I’m predicting that Houston will get paired with West Virginia in the quarterfinals and that it will win handily, resulting in a rematch of last season’s championship game in the semifinals. 

The last time Iowa State and Houston met, the Cyclones were without their two leading scorers in Jones and Gilbert. 

Iowa State put up a very valiant effort on the road, having the game within two points with under five minutes remaining before Houston pulled away to win 68-59.

I really want to take the Cyclones to pull off the upset over the Big 12’s back-to-back regular season champion, but I just don’t know if I can do it. 

I think that the offense will find more success with Jones and Gilbert being back in the lineup, but the consistency of Iowa State scares me. 

Iowa State has been very up-and-down the stretch of the season, and according to my prediction, they’ll be just one day removed from a hard-fought battle with BYU. Houston on the other hand has been the model of consistency, having not lost a game since Feb. 1.

I think that the Cyclones might have a better chance of dethroning Houston than anyone, but I think they fall just short, with Houston getting its revenge from last season’s championship game.

Championship: Houston 71, Texas Tech 62

Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger has called Houston “the standard in the league” and I agree. I think the Cougars cut down the nets after defeating Texas Tech to secure their first Big 12 Tournament Championship after winning the regular season title in each of their first two seasons in the conference.