No. 2 Arizona can clinch an outright Big 12 regular-season championship and No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a victory over No. 4 Iowa State on Monday at Tucson, Ariz.
Arizona (27-2, 14-2 Big 12) will face the Cyclones (24-5, 11-5) for the first time this season.
Texas Tech, at 12-4 in the league, is still in contention to share the regular-season Big 12 title and earn the top seed in the conference tournament if it wins its last two games and Arizona loses its last two games.
Iowa State is coming off an 82-73 loss to the Red Raiders on Saturday, the Cyclones’ first loss at home this season after starting 15-0.
“Obviously, we wanted to go undefeated at home, so that stings a little bit,” guard Tamin Lipsey said. “But at the same time, we’ve got Arizona and we’ve got another home game to finish off (the regular season), so at this point there’s no point in sulking.”
Rebounding is a concern for Iowa State, which lost in that category 35-29 against Texas Tech despite the Red Raiders being without injured center JT Toppin for the rest of the season because of a torn ACL.
Arizona is coming off outrebounding No. 14 Kansas 48-26 in an 84-61 home victory over the Jayhawks on Saturday.
“I’ve got to do a better job as a coach in terms of demanding rebounding effort, two-handed rebounds, finishing on the glass, finishing plays by any means necessary,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “Ultimately, we’ll get back to work, and that’s something that we understand — that when we’ve been successful, we win the rebounding battle. When we’ve lost, we haven’t.”
Arizona and Iowa State have contrasting styles.
Arizona has one of the most prolific scoring offenses, leading the conference with 87.1 points per game. Conversely, Iowa State has allowed only 65.5 points per game, third in the Big 12, and the Cyclones lead the Big 12 forcing 15 turnovers a game.
“We already started on the scout (of Iowa State),” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after the win over Kansas. “We started on the scout and it looks like they had a tough one at home against Texas Tech. I’m sure they’re gonna come in here hungry.
“They’re a unique team to play against at both ends of the floor. So, we’re gonna have to dig deep and have a plan and see if we can come out and execute it on Monday night. Obviously, it’s gonna be another great atmosphere, and it’s gonna be Senior Night.”
Arizona will honor seniors Jaden Bradley, Anthony Dell’Orso, Tobe Awaka and Evan Nelson.
Bradley averages 13.8 points and 4.6 assists per game. He will be matched often against Lipsey (13 points, 5.1 assists, 2.1 steals per game).
Dell’Orso, Awaka and Nelson come off the bench. Dell’Orso recently had back-to-back 22-point performances against BYU and Houston.
Awaka and post player Motiejus Krivas combine to help Arizona lead the Big 12 in average rebounding margin at plus-11.9. Awaka averages 9.4 rebounds per game while Krivas is at 8.4.
Joshua Jefferson is Iowa State’s top rebounder at 7.4 per game.
A matchup to watch is Milan Momcilovic of Iowa State against Ivan Kharchenkov on the perimeter.
Momcilovic has attempted 214 shots from 3-point range and has made 50.9%. His 109 made 3-pointers are only 61 fewer than what Arizona has made as a team this season.
–Field Level Media
