No. 10 Iowa State will strive for its third straight victory as it tips against Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon in a BIG 12 conference match at Ames, Iowa.
Iowa State (19-5, 9-4 BIG 12) comes from a 12-point victory against UCF in its last competition, on Tuesday in Orlando. It followed a 30-point kind of TCU last weekend.
The cyclones will meet a formidable opponent in Cincinnati (15-9, 5-8), which comes to town in a winning line with three games. Bearcat’s registered double-digit victories against UCF, Byu and Utah in the last and half a week, most recently Downing The Uts 85-75 on Tuesday.
Iowa State Coach Tj Otzelberger is optimistic when it comes to its team on its way into the last month of the conference schedule. The cyclones lost three in a row before jumping back for the last two victories, and Otzelberger thinks a strong finish is likely.
“There are) some really amazing things happening in front of our eyes,” said Otzelberger. “If you don’t really like them and appreciate them when they happen, they can go past you, and it’s a shame when you miss these joy.
“Because as I said I have been here when we haven’t had them. I’ve been here when we have been the last in the league as an assistant when things had not gone as well. And I think it really helped to shape me and benefit me and helped me in so many ways. ”
Cincinnati is also building an impressive story this season. Bearcats will probably remain without guard Connor Hickman, who has been on the side since the beginning of January due to a foot injury.
Cincinnati coach Wes Miller praised Hickman for doing everything he could to return.
“He works through it as hard as anyone can,” Miller said. “He is the toughest child. We have missed him dearly. We have missed his leadership, we have missed his toughness, we have missed his crime and the ability to play both positions in Backcourt.
“But I have no great expectation for the rest of this year, but I would not exclude anything.”
Five players make points in two figures for Iowa State this season. Curtis Jones leads the group with 17.4 points per match to go with 4.6 returns and 2.3 assists.
Keshon Gilbert is second in the team with 14.7 points and a team high 4.5 assists per match. Joshua Jefferson is the next with 12.8 points and a team high eight returns.
Tamin Lipsey (10.4 points per match) and Milan Momcilovic (10.1) round off the five best scores for Cyclones.
When it comes to Cincinnati, four players score points in two -digit numbers. Jizzle James produces a team high 11.7 points per match, and Simas Lukosius is just behind 11.5 points per competition.
Dillon Mitchell is ranked as third with 10.3 points per match, and he leads the squad with an average of 6.5 returns. Dan Skillings Jr. Adds 10.1 points per match through 18 races in the season.
This will be the eighth game between the programs. Cincinnati is constantly leading the series 4-3, but Iowa State won the last competition 68-59 on February 13, 2024.
Bearcats will visit Iowa State for the first time since December 1, 2016, when they beat the cyclones 55-54 in overtime.
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