Jan 29, 2019; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns forward Jaxson Hayes (10) celebrates after a 73-63 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks at Frank Erwin Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Spillman-USA TODAY Sports
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Hilton Coliseum
TV: ESPN2
KenPom Prediction: 74-66, Iowa State
1 – Handling Hayes
Texas freshman forward Jaxson Hayes has emerged as one of the best young big men in the country so far this season for Shaka Smart. The 6-foot-10 Cincinnati native is averaging 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and shooting a ridiculous 73.7 percent from the field, which is made even more ridiculous by the fact he shoots 71.6 percent from the free throw line.
Hayes will most likely end up being a one-and-done guy in Austin and is currently slated to be a late first-round selection by NBADraft.net. His offensive efficiency has boosted him to No. 12 nationally in offensive rating and his 13 percent block percentage is No. 8 in the country.
Texas has had a good string of young big men in Jarrett Allen and Mo Bamba. Hayes is another addition to that list and will be one of the tallest tasks for the Cyclones to handle on Saturday.
2 – Snoooooooooooooop!
Kerwin Roach has entered the Georges Niang/Perry Ellis club of feeling like he’s been playing college basketball for 75 years. But, the 6-foot-4 guard is finally a senior and he’s having his best college season.
While his shooting percentages have dipped slightly from last season’s numbers, Roach is averaging a career-high 14.3 points per game and dishing out 3.5 assists per contest. More than 44 percent of the Longhorns’ shots come from behind the 3-point line and Roach has taken the second-most on the team with 110 attempts at a 34.5 percent clip.
Roach will be an All-Big 12 guy and has the potential to go off on any given night.
3 – Sealing The Deal
This is an important game for Iowa State.
It has felt like every time this team gets momentum, it loses a game it shouldn’t and crashes back to Earth a little bit. The Cyclones need to seal the deal this week with a victory and send them into another tough game Monday night in Norman with momentum.
If this team is going to win the Big 12, which they very well could, this borders on a must-win, especially with the fact it is being played in Hilton Coliseum.
