Oklahoma vs. Iowa State: Another Rough Big 12 Road Test

Jan 16, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Jordan Woodard (10) handles the ball in front of West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jevon Carter (2) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Jordan Woodard (10) handles the ball in front of West Virginia Mountaineers guard Jevon Carter (2) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Sooners take to center stage for a second consecutive “Big Monday,” on the road again… and in another battle of ranked teams: Oklahoma vs. Iowa State.

The Cyclones (13-4, 2-3), ranked 17th in the most recent Associated Press poll, snapped a two-game losing skid on Saturday with a 76-63 victory at Kansas State. Monday night’s contest with the No. 2-ranked Sooners will be the first of back-to-back Monday night games against Big 12 contenders. One week after OU visits Hilton Coliseum in Ames the Kansas Jayhawks come calling.

Oklahoma will likely be ranked No. 1 in the country by tip off against the Cyclones. The No. 1 spot has not been kind to college teams the last couple of weeks, with former No. 1s Michigan State and Kansas falling in successive weeks. The last time Oklahoma was ranked No. 1 in the nation in basketball was March 1990 with Billy Tubbs as head coach.

Jan 2, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Isaiah Cousins (11) drives to the basket in front of Iowa State Cyclones guard Deonte Burton (30) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Isaiah Cousins (11) drives to the basket in front of Iowa State Cyclones guard Deonte Burton (30) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

This will be the second time the Sooners and Cyclones have met in as many weeks. Oklahoma prevailed in Norman on Jan. 2 in the conference opener for both teams 87-83. The Sooners were actually fortunate to escape with the victory in the first meeting. Iowa State’s Georges Niang led all scorers that day with 29 points. The Cyclones led for a most of the second half before Oklahoma took the lead for good with just under five minutes remaining in the game and held on for the win.

So the Sooners head to the Hilton House of Horrors, as visiting teams tend to refer to the Cyclones’ home court, with a giant target on their back and redemption heavy on the minds of the Iowa State players and fans, who will be loud and jam-packed to capacity on Monday night at Hilton Coliseum. Oklahoma teams have not had the best of luck when playing at Iowa State in the Big 12 era. The Sooners have lost their last four trips to Iowa State and are 4-8 in the 20 seasons the Big 12 has been in existence.

A year ago, Oklahoma held a 21-point lead early in the second half at Ames, only to witness a phenomenal Cyclone comeback that resulted in a “Hilton magical” 77-70 victory.

The Cyclones, who rank third in the Big 12 in scoring (85.2 points per game in all games), are led by Niang, the Big 12’s second-leading scorer behind the Sooners’ Buddy Hield. Niang averages 19.6 per game and is one of four Iowa State starters averaging 12 or more points per game.

Iowa State is a very good shooting team, connecting on 50 percent of its field-goal attempts for the season, but the Cyclones’ Achilles heel is that they are the worst defensive team in the Big 12. Iowa State opponents are shooting 43 percent from the field and 35 percent from three-point range.

Hield has scored 26 and 17 points in his last two games. The only thing wrong with those numbers is that he already has scored 30 or more six times this season, with a season-high 46 against Kansas. Hield had only 22 points in the first game with Iowa State this season and one of his worst shooting games, hitting only 8 of 23 shots. Ryan Spangler had 20 points in the game and Isaiah Cousins added 15, in one of his best shooting games of the season.

Jan 2, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots the ball in front of Iowa State Cyclones forward Jameel McKay (1) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners guard Buddy Hield (24) shoots the ball in front of Iowa State Cyclones forward Jameel McKay (1) during the second half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

The Sooners are going to need scoring production from more than just Hield if they are going to win at Iowa State. Junior point guard Jordan Woodard has come on strong this season, averaging 15.3 points a game and a sensational 55 percent from behind the three-point line. In his last four games, Woodard has drained 14 of 23 treys, including a 6-of-9 performance against Kansas.

The rematch with the Cyclones will mark the fifth time the Sooners have faced a top-25-ranked team this season. The Sooners are 3-1 in those games, the one loss coming in triple overtime at Kansas.

Thee Keys to the OU-Iowa State Game

  • Oklahoma cannot afford not to shoot well on the road at Iowa State. The Sooners shot just 33 percent in a two-point win at home on Saturday over West Virginia and just 34 percent in the second half at Oklahoma State in another narrow, two-point win earlier in the week. The good news for OU is that Iowa State is a poor defensive team by Big 12 standards.
  • Rebounding and second-chance points will play a big part in which team prevails on Monday night. In the first encounter this season between these two teams, the Sooners won the battle of the boards and, importantly, held a 13-8 advantage on the offensive glass. Second-chance points is one of the reasons Oklahoma was able to beat West Virginia on Saturday. In the earlier game with the Cyclones, OU outscored ISU 15-7 in second-chance opportunities.
  • Georges Niang vs. Buddy Hield. Niang got the better of this matchup the first-time around earlier this month, hitting 13 of 18 for a game-high 29 points and eight rebounds. The Sooners can not afford to let Niang have the same type of game at home. In short: they cannot let Niang beat them. If the Sooners are able to hold the Iowa State floor leader down, their chances of getting out of town with a win are much greater.

My pick: Oklahoma 82, Iowa State 78 – I have a bad feeling about this game, especially with the way Oklahoma has struggled at times in their last two games – both victories, but by only a combined 4 points. OU has arguably the most balanced team in the Big 12 from a production standpoint and also has the most experienced starting five. It’s time for that balance to show up again, and also for the Sooner bench to make a stronger contribution.