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GAME INFORMATION | ||
|---|---|---|
 | vs |  |
Iowa St. Cyclones (18-8, 8-5) | Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-15, 2-11) | |
February 23, 2013 @ 12:45 pm | ||
Hilton Coliseum | Ames, IA | ||
TV: ESPNU | Radio: Affiliates | GameCast: FoxSports | ||
Probable Starters | ||
Korie Lucious (5-11/170) | PG | Josh Gray (6-1/175) |
Chris Babb (6-5/225) | SG | Dusty Hannahs (6-4/210) |
Will Clyburn (6-7/210) | TG | Jamal Williams, Jr. (6-4/190) |
Georges Niang (6-7/245) | PF | Jordan Tolbert (6-7/225) |
Melvin Ejim (6-6/230) | C | Dejan Kravic (6-11/240) |
SCOUTING THE CYCLONES
I am not confident that Texas Tech will be able to pull a rabbit out of their hat against Iowa St. I don't know if ISU is actually fighting for a NCAA spot, but a second loss to Texas Tech isn't going to help. I have to imagine that they will be made very aware of that. Not only that, but ISU also recently lost to the Longhorns on the road.
The Cyclones are 14-0 at home and with a grudge on the line, it would surprise me to see Iowa St. to want to get off to a hot start and look to really push the envelope early. How about this, Iowa St. is the #1 ranked team in three-points made and have the #5 scoring offense. The defense isn't bad, but not as good as the offense. And honestly, I think that the ISU offense has gotten better since they last played. This really is a well-rounded team that does have a lot of players that can score and Texas Tech has a problem scoring.
KEYS TO SUCCESS
I wouldn't have mentioned the three-point defense if it wasn't a problem and Texas Tech is 322nd in three-point field goal defense. This has to be the highest priority. I don't really understand why Texas Tech is allowing such a poor three-point defense. It's not as if this team doesn't have the personnel to guard the three-point shot. As I think back, it does seem that the guards are consistently out lunging against three-point shooters as they tend to collapse on opponents driving or if the ball goes into the post.
ISU's ability to shoot the three-point shot makes the Cyclones a significantly better shooting team and that is the biggest advantage that ISU has against Texas Tech. I know that the last game Gray took ahold of the offense and hoisted 22 shots to score 26 points, but I'm not sure if that's really the way that this team plays best. I'd be fine with Jaye Crockett putting up 22 shots because I think that Crockett is a better shooter and it's really not even close. Gray is shooting 36% from the field and 18% from the three-point line and Crockett is shooting 51% from the field and 32% from the three-point line. If you're going to let someone shoot the ball, let it be Crockett.
GAME DAY LINKS
It's Not Who Starts, But Who Finishes - Texas Tech Red Raiders Official Athletic Site Texas Tech Preview & Big 12 Weekend Watch - Wide Right & Natty Lite What makes the Cyclones so hard to defend | The Des Moines Register | desmoinesregister.com Texas Tech Looks To Snap Iowa State's 21-Game Home Win Streak - Texas Tech Red Raiders Official Athletic Site Texas Tech hoping to recapture magic, pull second upset of Iowa State | Red Raiders Tech look to halt 7-game losing streak against Iowa State - The Daily Toreador: Sports