Cowboys Have a Chance of Turning Things Around Against Iowa State
STILLWATER – After a great performance on Saturday against the now No. 1 team in the country Baylor, Oklahoma State has a great chance of turning the season back in the right direction with a win over Iowa State tonight in Ames.
Oklahoma State (9-8, 0-5 Big 12) at Iowa State (8-9, 1-4 Big 12)
Date / Tipoff: Jan. 21, 2020 / 9 p.m. CT
Site: Hilton Coliseum (14,356)
Series: Tied 65-65 (ISU leads 40-15 in Ames)
Last: Iowa State won 72-59 on Jan. 19, 2019 in Ames
Streak: Iowa State won last two meetings
Webcast: ESPN+ (Clay Matvick, Bryndon Manzer)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network (Dave Hunziker, John Holcomb)
Satellite Radio: XM 389
(Oklahoma State Athletics Media Relations contributed this paragraph)
The series between Oklahoma State and Iowa State dates back to 1918 and couldn't be closer at 65 wins apiece. OSU took both regular season meetings with Iowa State in 2018, but the Cyclones returned the favor with a sweep of the Cowboys in 2019. In Ames, the Cylones lead the series, 40-15, and have won seven of the last eight meetings overall. The lone OSU win in that stretch - an 80-71 victory on Feb. 27, 2018 - gave Cowboy seniors Mitchell Solomon and Jeffrey Carroll a victory in every conference road venue - a Cowboy first since 1954.
The Cowboys had a great showing against Baylor as they led the majority of the game, just to have it slip away late during an 18-4 Baylor run. After starting Big 12 play shooting 18.2 percent from 3-point range, the Pokes shot nearly 42 percent against the Bears, as well as 41 percent from the field.
The Cowboys now have a fully healthy Isaac Likekele and that’s a shot in everyone’s arm. The Cowboys started the season 7-0 and in the top-25 rankings after winning it all in the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, but Likekele missed a month of action and lost 17 pounds due to an illness.
The projected starters in tonight’s game are freshman Avery Anderson III at point guard, Isaac Likekele at the two, Lindy Waters III at the three, Cameron McGriff at the four and freshman Kalib Boone at the five.
Obviously, things can change between now and then, but bringing Thomas Dziagwa and Yor Anei off the bench in the game against Baylor really seemed to provide a spark.
The Cyclones are led by sophomore guards Tyrese Haliburton and Rasir Bolton. Haliburton, who played alongside Isaac Likekele in the FIBA U19 World Cup this past summer, is averaging 15.7 points, 7.4 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. He’s a do-it-all point guard that can hurt you anywhere on the court.
As for Bolton, he’s averaging 14.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. ISU is also getting solid play out of big man George Conditt who’s averaging 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game.
There’s no question that this is going to be a dog fight and probably down to the wire as the last 14 meetings have been determined by nine points or less, including five by five points or fewer, with three games going into overtime.
But the way Oklahoma State played against easily one of the best teams in the country in Baylor this past weekend, the Cowboys certainly have a chance of righting the ship and putting another win in the column.
