NCAAB Game Preview - Baylor at Iowa State

Tue Feb 19, 2019 9:00 PM EST

Back on track and flexing its considerable muscle and balance, No. 19 Iowa State will look to even things for the season with Baylor on Tuesday when the short-handed Bears visit in Ames, Iowa for a key Big 12 dustup.

Iowa State jumped four spots this week in the Associated Press poll after a 78-64 win at league-leading Kansas State on Saturday, which might have been the Cyclones' best game of a very good season. Iowa State (19-6, 8-4 Big 12) took charge early on and led for nearly 35 minutes in the victory.

The victory came after a nine-point loss at home to TCU and week off, which the Cyclones used to recharge.

"It was good to have a week off, just to get these guys rested up a little," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm said. "The guys needed a little time away."

Iowa State, which has won five of its past six games, is currently in the middle of a three-game stretch against teams it lost to earlier this season. The Cyclones won the first of the rematches by dominating Kansas State.

Lindell Wigginton led Iowa State with 23 points in the win in Manhattan, while Talen Horton-Tucker hit for 20, and Marial Shayok posted his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Iowa State's 78 points in the win were the second most allowed this season by a stingy Kansas State defense, as the Cyclones shot 52.7 percent from the field, one of three teams to top 50 percent against the Wildcats in 2018-19.

"When our A Team shows up, we have a chance to do some good things," Prohm said. "The B Team -- we have to keep that as far away as we can. If it surfaces, we have to try and knock it out really quick."

Iowa State and Baylor are meeting for the 37th time, with the Cyclones holding a 19-17 lead in the all-time series, including a 14-2 edge, and two-game winning streak, in games played in Ames. In the season's first meeting, Baylor rallied to win 73-70 in Waco on Jan. 8.

The Bears (16-9, 7-5 in Big 12 play) have lost three of their past four after a six-game winning streak that had propelled them toward the top of the Big 12 standings. The latest setback was a 86-61 thumping at Texas Tech on Saturday.

Baylor struggled to compete with the Red Raiders without senior guards Makai Mason and King McClure, who both missed the game with injuries. McClure has missed the last three games with a knee injury, and Mason has been absent for two of the past three outings with a toe injury on his right foot.

The Bears had 19 turnovers in the loss and shot just 34.7 percent from the floor in their worst defeat in the series with Texas Tech in 17 years.

"Where you miss Makai and King the most is in their leadership," Baylor coach Scott Drew said after the loss. "They make sure we're not distracted, intimidated, frustrated, or giving up on plays, while keeping everyone united on the same page. We didn't have enough people finding other people. We only had six assists."

Both Mason and McClure are being treated and evaluated daily and will be game-time decisions against Iowa State.

Jared Butler scored 16 points, and Mario Kegler added 15 for the Bears against the Red Raiders.

"I still have good faith in this team," Kegler said. "Guys go down, you've got to stick with the guys you have at the moment. That's why we came to Baylor."

--Field Level Media