AMES — Saturday afternoon’s game against No. 25 Baylor is a big one, as the No. 3 Cyclones look to move to 2-0 in the Big 12 and secure their second top-25 win of the season. 

The Bears are off to an up-and-down start to their season. The preseason No. 8 team in the country has fallen to No. 25 after going 9-3 in their first 12 games, but their schedule has been difficult.

Baylor’s three losses have been at the hands of currently ranked No. 19 Gonzaga, No. 1 Tennessee and No. 11 UConn. 

Baylor’s most notable wins include a one-point victory over St. John’s and a five-point victory over No. 23 Arkansas. 

“A team with a lot of strengths, they’re playing really good basketball,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “The games where they hadn’t been successful has either been on the road against really good teams or against a great Tennessee team who’s playing as well as any.”

Despite the up-and-down start to this season, Baylor has been one of the strongest programs in the nation in recent years. 

Over the last five seasons, Baylor has finished no lower than fourth in the Big 12, finishing first in the standings twice and has won at least one NCAA tournament game each year, including winning the 2021 National Championship.

“Every year, the consistency, they have a really good team. They continue to have a culture, in a way, that they do things that’s impressive.” Otzelberger said. 

The Bears are led by senior forward Norchad Omier. The forward is averaging 16.1 points and 10.9 rebounds per game, along with 1.2 blocks and 1.6 steals. 

“Omier is a mismatch nightmare, a guy who plays extremely hard. Leads the league in double-doubles, really motored up.” Otzelberger said. 

The Bears’ second-highest scorer is freshman guard Robert Wright III. Just like Iowa State’s second-highest scorer, Curtis Jones, Wright also comes off the bench and averages 13.1 points and 5.4 assists per game. 

“Offensively, they’ve got terrific guard play across the board and even into the bench. Wright coming off the bench is playing tremendously,” Otzelberger said.

Iowa State is 4-5 against Baylor since Otzelberger became the head coach in 2021, but Iowa State went 2-1 last season including a win in the Big 12 tournament.

“We’ve got tremendous respect for them, the program, the way that they do things,” Otzelberger said. “We’re gonna have to have great practices and preparation to be our absolute best come Saturday.”

If Saturday’s game was not already big enough, it will also include the return of the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 Iowa State men’s basketball teams to Hilton Coliseum. 

The 1999-2000 team went 32-5, won the Big 12 and made a run to the Elite Eight before losing to the eventual National Champion, Michigan State.

The 2000-01 team went 25-6 en route to winning the Big 12 for the second season in a row, before losing in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Three players from those teams, Marcus Fizer, Jamaal Tinsley and Paul Shirley, went on to play in the NBA.

“Those guys, they did so much for our program. The successes they had were tremendous,” Otzelberger said. “So awesome that we’re able to have those guys back to be able to honor them and show them the respect that they deserve for everything that they’ve done for our program and putting us in the position that we’re in now.”

Iowa State and Baylor tip-off at 1 p.m. Saturday from Hilton Coliseum. The game will be broadcast live on CBS.