All or nothing Iowa State looks to turn corner at Big 12 Tournament

Iowa State has won three of the last five Big 12 Tournaments. When the Cyclones didn’t cut the nets in that span, they bowed out in the first game.

When it comes to the event at the Sprint Center, Iowa State has been all or nothing, and this year’s team has followed a similar theme.

At times, the Cyclones have looked like the best team in the Big 12. By mid-January, Iowa State had won at Texas Tech and throttled Kansas in Hilton Coliseum. Later, they won at Kansas State. Those opponents are the top three teams in the Big 12.

But Iowa State limped to the finish line, lugging three straight losses and five defeats in their last six games into its Big 12 quarterfinal game on Thursday against Baylor. The game tips at 11:30 a.m.

The fourth-seeded Bears swept the regular-season series from fifth-seeded Iowa State, the second outcome starting the Cyclones’ current five of six skid.

“They beat us twice, kind of out-toughed us both games, and it’s kind of like, ‘How are you going to respond?’” Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said.

Nobody knows. Both teams are in good shape for the NCAA Tournament, but the Cyclones will be looking for the form that pushed them into the polls for most the conference season.

“It’s a new season,” Prohm said. “We’re in great spirits.”

That hasn’t seemed to be case in recent weeks. Frustrations mounted and tempers flared among the Cyclones during the recent rough stretch. It appeared junior forward Michael Jacobson and freshman guard Talen Horton-Tucker got into an argument during a loss at West Virginia. Players said there was heated practice late in the season, a day when leading scorer Marial Shayock sprained a toe, and there was a senior-led team meeting later in the week.

The Cyclones played better in the regular-season finale, a home loss to Texas Tech that clinched a share of the Big 12 title for the Red Raiders, and say there are no chemistry issues.

“We’ve put the struggles we had the past couple of games behind,” senior guard Nick Weiler-Babb said.

When things are rolling for Iowa State it’s usually because the offense is humming. The Cyclones lead the Big 12 in scoring at 77.7 points per game and field-goal percentage at 47.7 percent.

Shayok has been terrific after transferring from Virginia. The senior guard averages 18.7 points while shooting 49.7 from the floor.

Both regular-season meetings with Baylor were close. The Bears won in Waco, Texas, 73-70 on Jan. 8, when Baylor guard Makai Mason scored seven straight points late.

The Bears completed the sweep on Feb. 17 with a 73-69 victory in Ames, one of four home conference losses for Iowa State this season.

Thursday’s winner will take on the winner of the game between top-seeded Kansas State and either TCU or Oklahoma State on Friday.

Getting a first victory this season over Baylor wouldn’t just advance Iowa State in the tournament, according to recent history it would lead to a championship. And if not that, at least the Cyclones would break their losing streak and perhaps begin to regain earlier form.

This story was originally published March 13, 2019 at 4:15 PM with the headline "All or nothing Iowa State looks to turn corner at Big 12 Tournament."