Iowa State-Baylor Preview
By Ross
Date: February 13th, 2012
Time: 6:00 PM CST
Where: The Ferrell Center
TV: ESPNU
Spread: Baylor (-8)
Know the Foe: It is late in the season, but Iowa State has yet to play Baylor. Baylor has spent most of their time atop the Big 12 standings but are currently on a two-game losing streak. Now the Bears have to beat Iowa State to keep third place in the conference. Baylor is led by their preseason All-American and one of the top NBA Draft prospects, Perry Jones III. PJ3 averages 13.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game; both statistics lead the team. Also, Jones has a field goal percentage over 50%. Perry Jones presents a tough matchup for Iowa State. Perry Jones is 6’11. Royce White is 3 inches smaller and isn’t the best post defender in the world. I’m expecting to see a lot of Anthony Booker (6’9) on Perry Jones tonight.
Fred Hoiberg on guarding Perry Jones:
"“That’s a tough battle. Somebody’s got to guard Perry Jones, he’s 6-11 and you look at a guy like Chris Babb and he’s 6-5. So we’re going to be giving up some length, but if we go down there and play physical and play with confidence I’ll take our chances.”"
In the last two games, Jones has only scored a combined 9 points. Besides Jones, the Bears have a lot of other solid players. Guard Pierre Jackson averages 12.6 points and leads the team with 5.8 assists per game (second in the Big 12). Cyclone fans need to be aware of the two Quincys. Quincy Miller scores 12.3 per game and Quincy Acy averages 12.2 points per game and Acy also averages 2.1 blocks per game (second in the Big 12). Brady Heslip (9.1) and Anthony Jones (5.3) can score for the Bears too.
Baylor may have four Big 12 losses, but all of their losses have been against either Kansas or Missouri.
Prediction: As you know, the Clones are on a roll. If Iowa State wants to upset the Bears, they are going to have to shoot well (sounds so obvious). The Cyclones aren’t going to be able to rely on Royce White dominating down low this game. Baylor has a tremendous amount of length and as mentioned earlier, Quincy Acy is one of the best shot blockers in the Big 12. If Chris Allen and the other members of the backcourt have a great game, I like Iowa State’s chances. If not, I like the Bears.
Iowa State can maybe get Baylor at home in front of a packed Hilton Coliseum, but I don’t think they can on the road. I think Baylor snaps their losing streak tonight.
Iowa State – 67
Baylor – 73
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