Two highly ranked teams are looking to break out of their recent struggles. One will come out on top when No. 3 Iowa State faces No. 11 Kansas in a Big 12 Conference showdown Monday night in Lawrence, Kansas.
Iowa State (17-4, 7-3 Big 12) is looking to recover after back-to-back losses to Arizona on the road and Kansas State at home. The Cyclones have dropped three of their last five games after starting the season with 15 wins in their first 16 games.
Kansas (15-6, 6-4) is coming off a tough loss to Baylor, where they made history for the wrong reasons. The Jayhawks lost a 21-point lead and fell 81-70, marking their second loss in the last three games.
Kansas head coach Bill Self didn’t criticize his team much after the collapse. He kept quiet, understanding that Monday’s game against Iowa State is a chance for his players to prove their previous performance was a fluke.
“I really didn’t say much,” Self said. “I don’t think in situations like that there’s really a lot to be said. Any type of pick-’em-up talk isn’t going to be heard. And there’s no reason to get on anybody (with intense criticism).”
Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger is also hoping to see a better performance from his team. The Cyclones just suffered an 80-61 loss at home, their first home defeat in almost two years.
“It certainly wasn’t an effort that we’re proud of at all,” Otzelberger said about the Kansas State loss. “Definitely different than our standard (in terms of) what we expect and what we’ve demonstrated through the first 20 games…”
“I think it starts with self-accountability. You have to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘How did I help on the glass? How did I help make people miss? How did I help guard the ball?’ And if you first start with that and you’re doing a great job of that yourself, it puts you in a position where you can challenge your teammates and others to do the same thing.”
Kansas is led by Hunter Dickinson, who is averaging 16.4 points and 9.7 rebounds, shooting 52.6 percent from the field. Zeke Mayo adds 15.0 points per game, while Dajuan Harris Jr. (9.8) and KJ Adams Jr. (8.3) round out the top four scorers.
For Iowa State, Curtis Jones leads with 17.9 points per game and shoots 37.8 percent from three-point range. Keshon Gilbert follows with 15.2 points and a team-high 4.5 assists per game. Joshua Jefferson chips in 12.9 points per game and leads with 8.0 rebounds, while Tamin Lipsey adds 10.8 points per game.
This will be the 260th meeting between the two teams, with Kansas leading the series 190-69. However, Iowa State has won the last two matchups.
