Jan 16, 2024; Provo, Utah, USA; Brigham Young Cougars guard Dallin Hall (30) posts up against Iowa State Cyclones guard Keshon Gilbert (10) during the second half at Marriott Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports
No. 6 Iowa State (23-6, 12-4) will close out the Big 12 conference home slate with No. 20 BYU (21-8, 9-7) in front of a sold-out Senior Night crowd (8:00 p.m., ESPN2).
The Cyclones escaped Orlando, Florida with a 60-52 win over the UCF Knights. They closed out the final 3:05 on an 11-2 run to shut the door on UCF and return home to Ames with the eight-point win.
BYU has won three of their last four games, which includes home victories over Baylor and TCU, and a signature road win at Kansas. They close out the regular season at No. 6 Iowa State and home against Oklahoma State.
Iowa State has the chance to finish undefeated at Hilton Coliseum for the first time since the 2000-2001 season. With two regular season games remaining, Iowa State and Houston are the only teams in the Big 12 with an unblemished home records.
About the Cougars
BYU coach Mark Pope and his program have had an exceptional first year in the Big 12 conference. The Cougars sit at 9-7 in conference play and are contending to receive the last double-bye for the Big 12 Tournament down in Kansas City.
In the first matchup between the two schools, BYU bested the Cyclones by 15 points in the Marriott Center back in early January. The Cougars made 13 3-pointers in that game and ran away with it late in the second half. Coach Pope’s team is the number one offense in the Big 12 averaging 82.7 points per game as a team.
On the season, BYU has seven players averaging over 9.0 points per game and they are led by a Sixth Man of the Year candidate Jaxson Robinson. The 6-foot-7 guard is one of the best-scoring guards in the Big 12. He averages 13.9 points per game on a 42.3 percent shooting clip and 35.4 percent from behind the arc.
Robinson scored 15 points and made 3 triples against the Cyclones in the first meeting. Iowa State will try to run him off the line and force him into taking tough 2-point jumpers.
The Cougars were without their best 3-point shooters when they played the Cyclones in January. Trevin Knell is coming off his second-best scoring output of the season in their win over TCU last Saturday.
The 6-foot-5 junior scores 11.4 points per game but more importantly shoots 40 percent from behind the arc on 158 attempts this season. Knell will look to shoot at every opportunity he can, so the Cyclones need to limit his catch-and-shoot chances.
Iowa State struggled to defend the 3-pointer in the first game against the Cougars and Spencer Johnson was a main reason why. The 6-foot-5 junior scored 28 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists in the win over the Cyclones.
On the season, Johnson averages 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game. In his last six games, Johnson has struggled to get it going from behind the arc. He is just 5-20 from 3-point range in those last six games.
The leading assist men on the BYU team are starting point guard Dallin Hall and starting center Aly Khalifa.
The 6-foot-4 Hall is a pass-first point guard but can score the ball when needed to. He excels at dribble driving into the paint and kicking out to his shooters on the perimeter. His 9.3 points per game ranks sixth on the team in scoring, but his 5.0 assists lead the team.
Khalifa, a junior center, is one of the best passing big men in college basketball. He is not your traditional back-to-the-basket type post player. Most of his damage is done on the perimeter with his passing and 3-point shooting. Khalifa only averages 5.9 points and 3.9 rebounds, but he has the second-best assists per game numbers on the BYU team with 4.1.
What makes Khalifa a matchup nightmare is his pick-and-pop ability. At 6-foot-11, 270 pounds, Khalifa sets hard screens and pops to the top of the key for open threes. Robert Jones and Hason Ward will need to play good ball screen defense to help prevent the dribble drive and get out to the shooter.
Senior night farewell for Rob, Tre, and Hason
After the 2020-2021 season concluded with a 2-22 record, T.J. Otzelberger was hired to rebuild the Iowa State program to where it once was during his times as an assistant coach.
Otzelberger was looking for impact transfers to help change the culture of the program during his first offseason and none were more important than Robert Jones and Tre King.
Both King and Jones took a chance on a coach, program, and fanbase that was desperate for the winning tradition to return.
In their first year, the Cyclones completed the biggest turnaround in college basketball history, going from 2 wins to 22 wins in one year. It was capped off with the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2016.
Although King could not play due to the mid-season transfer rules, he was a vital part of the success of that team through his positive attitude and enthusiasm on the bench.
Jones on the other hand, played in every game that first season. That included nine starts during the Big 12 conference slate.
The following year, a 6-foot-9 forward from VCU in Hason Ward transfers into the program with high expectations. After not seeing much major action most of the season, Otzelberger called on Ward to give them a boost in their regular season finale at Baylor.
Off the bench, Ward gave the Cyclones energy to help propel them to a win over No. 7 Baylor heading into March.
Now, 29 games into the season, the trio are each playing some of the best basketball of their careers. These three seniors still have yet to determine the outcome of their final colligate season, but they will all be remembered long after they leave Ames.
