Iowa State will host the Prairie View A&M Panthers on Sunday afternoon inside Hilton Coliseum (12:00 p.m., ESPN+).
The Cyclones moved to 7-2 on the season after a 90-65 rout over in-state rival Iowa Thursday night in front of a sold-out crowd.
The Panthers (4-3) are coached by Byron Smith, who is in his eighth season as head coach. Smith led the Panthers to a 13-17 record and a fourth-
place finish in the SWAC conference last year.
Smith has completely overhauled his roster from last year. The Panthers are one of the oldest teams in college basketball, with six graduate transfers on the roster.
They are led by former SMU and Old Dominion transfer Charles Smith IV. The dynamic scoring guard can shoot the three and get to the rim, and leads the Panthers in scoring (16.6) as well as rebounds (5.0). He’s shooting 41.5 percent from the field overall and 39.3 percent from 3-point range.
The lone sophomore in the program is 6-foot-5 forward Chris Felix Jr. As an undersized forward, Felix still manages to stretch the defense with his ability to make mid-range jumpers and drive the ball to the hoop effectively. He’s the team’s second-leading scorer with 13.6 points per game and has a team-high 85.7 percent free throw percentage.
The Panthers’ only freshman comes in Orlando Horton Jr. The 5-foot-9 guard has been solid all-around during his first season with the team. Horton Jr. is sixth on the team in scoring with 7.8 points per game and second in assists with 1.8 per game.
On the offense
Prairie View A&M likes to play with tempo. The Panthers are rated at No. 50 in tempo in the KenPom ratings.
Byron’s team is also extremely athletic, and his guards are quick with the ball in their hands. The team’s best offense is creating turnovers on defense and turning it into fast-break baskets on the other end.
Iowa State has done well so far this season in playing defense without fouling and avoiding fouls when opponents get to the rim. They will have to do that again on Sunday. The Panthers rank No. 27 in the country in free throw percentage, shooting 77.1 percent as a team and are also No. 24 in the country in made free throws per game with 18.3. Keeping them off the free throw line will be a big emphasis for T.J. Otzelberger and his staff.
Defensive Tendencies
Iowa State will have the major height advantage over the Panthers. Prairie View A&M has no one taller than 6-foot-8 on his roster. Look for Robert Jones and Tre King to take advantage of Prairie View A&M’s undersized forwards early in the first half.
The Cyclones will see a majority of man-to-man defense from the Panthers. Byron’s team will also run a 2-2-1 full-court press after made baskets and out of timeouts. They will look to trap the first pass and then back off if you pass out of the trap.
They will also look to trap teams as soon as they cross half-court. Iowa State needs to take care of the ball and find the open man for easy layups and threes on the backside of the defense.
