The Red Raiders are coming off of a good win against Texas and look to continue their hot streak against a very good Iowa St squad. The Cyclones have won the Big 12 tournament the past two seasons and many have them picked to be among the favorites for the conference championship again this year.
Be sure to catch the game on ESPNU at 8:00 PM.
Iowa St Key Players
| Category | Stat | Name |
| Points/Game | 19.6 | F Georges Niang |
| Rebounds/Game | 9.5 | F Jameel McKay |
| Assist/Game | 7.5 | G Monte Morris |
| 3pt Made/3pt % | 29/69, 42.0% | G Matt Thomas |
| Free Throw % | 40/46, 87.0% | F Georges Niang |
Georges Niang seems like he's been in college for about 8 years now and you'd think so with the numbers he's putting up. Niang is averaging almost 20 points a game along with close to 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Forward Jameel McKay is also having an amazing year averaging 14.1 points a game an 9.5 rebounds. Guard Monte Morris is averaging 7.5 assists a game which is outstanding. The Red Raiders my have trouble matching up with the Cyclones' talents.
Last 5 Games
| 12/13 Ark-Pine Bluff | W 78-64 |
| 12/19 Northern Iowa | L 81-79 |
| 12/22 #22 Cincinnati | W 81-79 |
| 12/30 Coppin State | W 104-84 |
| 1/2 #3 Oklahoma | L 87-83 |
The Cyclones have only lost two games on the year, Northern Iowa and Oklahoma. Northern Iowa is always a solid basketball program and is known to pull off some upsets in the NCAA tournament. Iowa St lost to then #3 Oklahoma by 4 in their last outing. By now everyone knows Oklahoma is for real, especially after the multi-overtime game that took Kansas down to the wire. You may notice that Iowa St only beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff by 14 and Tech beat the same team by 40. Does that mean something? Probably not.
Prediction
Texas Tech 76 - Iowa St 80
As hot as the Red Raiders are right now and as bad as I want them to win, Iowa St is just more talented. One good thing for Texas Tech and its fan base is that talent always wins you games though. If the Red Raiders play mistake-free basketball and converts in pivotal situations then they could walk away from Ames with a win.
