CBB Game of the Week: No. 9 Kansas vs. No. 2 Iowa State

As the college basketball season progresses, we are treated to tightly-contested intraconference match-ups. This Big 12 battle will feature a rising basketball program, the No. 2 Iowa State Cyclones playing host to a classic blue-blooded college basketball program, the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks were featured as the top-ranked team in the country to start the season, and while they were No. 1, they picked up huge wins against North Carolina and Duke with a win that’s not to be overlooked against an unranked at the time, but formidable Michigan St. squad coached by the legendary Tom Izzo.

They have since fallen out of the top spot of the AP poll with losses to Creighton, Missouri and West Virginia, all unranked teams at the time of their games. The 12-3 Jayhawks have been ranked as low as No. 11 this season.

The 14-1 Cyclones started the season ranked as the No. 5 team in the nation. Their one loss was to a No. 4 Auburn squad who is now No. 1, and the game finished in heartbreaking fashion if you’re a Cyclones fan because the margin was just two.

As Bruce Wayne’s dad would say, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up,” The Cyclones have lived up to that saying by picking up wins against No. 25 Baylor, No. 5 Marquette and an unranked Iowa squad that is to be taken seriously. The Cyclones have yet to fall out of the top-ten of the AP poll this season.

The Jayhawks have one of, if not the most feared centers in all of the land. Hunter Dickinson, the 7-foot-2 fifth-year senior, who has started all but five games in his college career, is having sort of a down year this season, but still leading his team in points per game with 15.8. Not only does Dickinson score at a high clip, but he is also ultra-tough, pulling down a team-leading 10.5 rebounds per game.

The Jayhawks also have amazing guards to compliment their player of the year caliber center. Zeke Mayo is just the highlight of those guards. The transfer from South Dakota St. needed no time to settle into his new school at Kansas as he is second on his team in points per game.

The pass-first mentality of Jayhawks point guard Dajuan Harris Jr. is the catalyst of the well-oiled machine that is the Jayhawks’ offense. He leads the team with 5.3 assists per game.

Iowa State is swimming in above-average guard-play themselves. Curtis Jones is shooting his way to a team-best 17.3 points per game this season. Jones is also averaging less than one turnover a game, so head coach T.J. Otzelberger can relax when Jones has the ball.

Keshon Gilbert is another guard to watch on the Cyclone. He is not far behind Jones for the team-lead with 16.1 points per game.

Get your popcorn ready for this game on Wednesday night at 7. Vegas says Iowa State has the upper-hand, but you’ll have to watch to find out.

Chase Yingling is a third-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact him, email cey5100@psu.edu.