After spending the holidays at home, No. 3 Iowa State is ready to hit the road for its Big 12 Conference opener on Monday night.
And Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger knows exactly what he wants his players to pack. It’s not a tangible item such as shirts or socks, but more of a mindset that can help his team succeed in a hostile environment.
“When you enter into league play, I think it becomes even more important when you go on the road that you’re a team that focuses on getting stops on the defensive end of the floor,” Otzelberger said. “You hear all the time people will say, ‘Defense travels.'”
Iowa State (10-1) and Colorado (9-2) will meet for the second time this season when they tip off Monday in Boulder, Colo. The matchup will count as the teams’ first conference game because the first meeting was Nov. 27 at the Maui Invitational, which did not count toward the Big 12 standings.
The Cyclones won that contest 99-71 thanks in part to Milan Momcilovic, who scored a team-high 24 points. Iowa State shot 60.3 percent from the field, compared with 41.8 percent for Colorado.
Monday’s matchup could have a different feel. Colorado has four consecutive wins since its loss against Iowa State, and the Buffaloes are 8-0 on their home court to start the season.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle praised his players for developing good habits such as making the right pass instead of forcing low-percentage shots. It is something he wants to see again when Iowa State comes to town.
“The assist totals have been a function of taking care of the ball — you’ve got to take care of it to get an assist, obviously — and sharing the ball, having good spacing,” Boyle said. “And guys finishing. You’ve got to make shots when you’re open. You’ve got to finish at the rim. So it’s a function of a lot of things that are going on well.
“That’s why teams with high assists are usually high-functioning, high-efficiency teams.”
Iowa State, which has won seven straight games, also is functioning at a high level, as it has six players averaging double-digit points. Keshon Gilbert leads the way at 16.5 points per game, and Curtis Jones is close behind at 16.
The other four players scoring in double digits are Momcilovic (11.6), Joshua Jefferson (11.5), Dishon Jackson (11) and Tamin Lipsey (10.1).
Colorado is led by Julian Hammond III (13.1 ppg), while Elijah Malone (12) and Andrej Jakimovski (11.2) also are scoring in double digits. Trevor Baskin leads the Buffaloes with 6.5 rebounds per game.
Otzelberger warned his team not to get too comfortable after beating Colorado by 28 points in November.
“They’ve got a terrific coach,” he said. “They’re guys now that, when we played them the first time, hadn’t had as much experience because their roster was so new from last year. Now those guys have had more and more opportunities to play together, to have success together. So we’ve got to focus on the things we can do.”
Monday will mark the 150th all-time matchup between the schools. Iowa State leads the series 79-70, but the Buffaloes have a 48-17 series advantage in Boulder.
–Field Level Media
