AMES – In the past two games, No. 3 Iowa State has lost twice. The first of those came in overtime after a halfcourt shot against Arizona on the road.

The second of those losses was a bit jarring, losing to Kansas State by 19 at home. It snapped what would have been the 30th home win in a row for the Cyclones.

“It hurts, especially at home,” senior guard Curtis Jones said. “We don’t want to feel like this again, so we’ll just use it as hunger and motivation to continue to keep getting better and win.”

After the game, the message from head coach T.J. Otzelberger and the players was clear: something has to change.

“We’re going to do a better job with our mental focus on the things that matter and winning,” Otzelberger said. “It starts with self-accountability.”

Now at 17-4 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12, Iowa State sits fourth in the conference standings and is one game ahead of its next opponent: No. 11 Kansas.

The Cyclones and Jayhawks have already faced one another this season. Kansas rolled into Ames looking for an upset, but was sent packing after a 74-57 Iowa State win on Jan. 15.

In that game, Cyclone senior guard Curtis Jones scored 25 after he drained five of his six 3-point attempts. Hunter Dickinson, the big man for the Jayhawks, was held in check with six points but still hauled in eight rebounds.

Since the first meeting, Iowa State has gone 2-3, while Kansas is 3-2, with close losses to Baylor and then-No. 6 Houston and wins over Kansas State, TCU and UCF.

Like the Cyclones, the Jayhawks will enter Monday night’s contest off of a loss two days prior. Kansas held a 21-point lead and ended up losing to Baylor by 11. It was the biggest lead Kansas had ever surrendered in school history.

So, heading back home, the Jayhawks will likely be determined to get back in the win column and get their revenge over Iowa State.

Monday will mark the 260th meeting all-time between the long-time Big 12 foes. Kansas leads the series 190-69 and is 97-16 against Iowa State at Phog Allen Fieldhouse.

In the last 10 games, the Cyclones have won three, but those three have all been in the past four games.

However, those trends differ to the ones on Kansas’ side, especially in Monday games, games after losses and home games.

Under head coach Bill Self, the Jayhawks are 37-0 in Monday night games, are 23-3 against teams ranked higher than they are and Kansas is 4-1 in games after a loss this season.

No matter what way it’s swung, both teams have reasons for why they will win this game. But, Iowa State hasn’t made it past the ‘Phog’ since the 2016-17 season, when the Cyclones won in OT.

It’s been eight years since Iowa State has beaten Kansas on the road, and it will need to in order to stop the bleeding and prevent the losing streak from reaching three games.

“At some point as players, we’re the ones out there on the court playing the game, so we got to step up and come together as a group,” junior guard Tamin Lipsey said.

The Cyclones and Jayhawks are set to battle once again at 8 p.m. Monday. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.



Source link


administrator