No. 2 Baylor looks for home win vs Iowa State
Iowa State (8-7, 1-2) vs. No. 2 Baylor (13-1, 3-0)
Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: No. 2 Baylor looks for its seventh straight win over Iowa State at Ferrell Center. The last victory for the Cyclones at Baylor was an 87-82 win on Feb. 20, 2013.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Baylor’s Jared Butler has averaged 16.7 points while MaCio Teague has put up 14.6 points and 4.8 rebounds. For the Cyclones, Tyrese Haliburton has averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists while Rasir Bolton has put up 15.1 points.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Bears have given up only 50.3 points per game to Big 12 opponents so far, an improvement from the 60.3 per game they allowed to non-conference opponents.
CREATING OFFENSE: Haliburton has either made or assisted on 48 percent of all Iowa State field goals over the last three games. The sophomore guard has accounted for 15 field goals and 23 assists in those games.
STREAK SCORING: Baylor has won its last seven home games, scoring an average of 73.3 points while giving up 54.4.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Cyclones have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Bears. Baylor has 25 assists on 69 field goals (36.2 percent) across its previous three outings while Iowa State has assists on 50 of 79 field goals (63.3 percent) during its past three games.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The sturdy Baylor defense has held opponents to 58.1 points per game, the sixth-lowest mark in Division I. Iowa State has allowed an average of 71.7 points through 15 games (ranking the Cyclones 216th).