Iowa State Cyclones vs Oklahoma Sooners: Three players to watch

Oklahoma hasn’t received much press this season, but they’ll be an offensive challenge for Iowa State who is back on the road again this weekend in another early start.

Everyone knows DeAndre Kane by now, but what about the Sooners’ scoring star? We’ll examine their very good shooting guard while taking a look at both teams’ bench, an important part of what’s expected to be an up-and-down game in Norman.

Jan 8, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Cameron Clark (21) handles the ball against Kansas Jayhawks guard Wayne Selden, Jr. (1) and Jayhawks forward Perry Ellis (34) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Cameron Clark (#21, senior guard)

With his height at 6-foot-7, Clark is similar to Kane’s size at the guard position. He averages 18.7 points (team-high) and six rebounds per game.  He tied his season-high of 32 points against Kansas and has no problems taking over and shooting the ball; he’s shooting a fairly good 48.5 percent from the field. Clark has scored 20 or more points seven times while eclipsing the 31 mark three times.

Monte Morris (#11, freshman guard)

Oklahoma wants a track meet with Iowa State, so depth will be a huge factor in this game. That means Morris can’t miss a beat coming off the bench. He did everything he needed to do coming into the last game against Baylor, scoring 13 points and hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range. It will be important to continue dishing the ball off; Morris has nine assists in the previous three games, an improvement from the five total in the five games before that stretch.

Tyler Neal (#15, senior forward)

Neal is seeing the most time off of the bench, averaging 6.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 15.1 minutes per game. He’s been starting to get hot as of late, playing 43 minutes total in the last two games and scoring 24 total points and hitting 5-of-9 from the perimeter. Neal has scored in double-digits five total times this season.

Other notes

• Ryan Spangler (OU so. forward, #00) has shot about half as much as Clark and Buddy Hield, but he leads the team in rebounding (132). He has 44 total offensive boards, and he’ll be a problem for a Cyclone team that’s been struggling on the offensive glass recently.
• Oklahoma doesn’t have much defense, giving up 79.1 points per game (325th nationally). It will be important for both Jordan Woodward (OU fr. guard, #10) and Isaiah Cousins (OU so. guard, #11) to hold onto the ball. They have 72 turnovers combined and Cousins has an even assist-to-turnover ratio.

Tip-off is scheduled for this Saturday at 11:00 AM Central time and the contest will be televised on ESPNU