The No. 14 Cyclones will head to the Lone Star State to face the Longhorns. Iowa State beat Texas the last time these two teams met with the Cyclones coming away with the 69-67 victory thanks to a 22-point effort from Georges Niang and a 24-point game from Monte Morris.
The two will be back on the court for Iowa State on Tuesday looking for another win 10 months later. Of course, this time they'll look to cover the spread, too, after a push last time around.
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HOW THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Longhorns snapped a six game winning streak in their final game of December and have gone just 1-3 SU and 0-4 ATS since. Overall, Texas is 4-10 ATS.
One thing Texas's last four games have in common is the lack of center Cameron Ridley. Ridley last played on December 19 in a win at Stanford. He was averaging 12.7 PPG and 9.7 RPG prior to his injury and had three straight double-doubles.
Without Ridley, the Longhorns have just two players averaging north of 10 PPG with most of their production coming from their collection of guards.
Iowa State, meanwhile, has four active players with a dozen or more PPG, amongst them is Monte Morris who'll team with Deonte Burton and Matt Thomas to matchup against Texas's guards.
Meanwhile, in the frontcourt, Iowa State has the clear advantage. The Cyclones have the tandem of Georges Niang and Jameel McKay leading the way with 19.4 and 14.3 PPG respectively. The two are also combining for 16.3 RPG.
As a team, Iowa State plays a fast paced game, making it hard for Texas to keep pace. They rank No. 10 nationally with 85.4 PPG and are shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor.
Iowa State has a deep starting five. In Saturday's loss to Baylor, the Cyclones got three 20-point performances but it still didn't prove to be enough.
HOW THE TEXAS LONGHORNS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Iowa State has dropped two of its last three games and back-to-back games ATS. That's a good sign for those looking to back the Longhorns on their home floor.
Texas isn't a particularly dominating offensive team, but they're averaging 73.5 PPG which shows enough offense when facing an Iowa State defense ranked No. 232 in the nation.
For the Longhorns to cover the spread, they'll need to hold their own against Niang and McKay, but win in the backcourt with Isaiah Taylor and Javan Felix. Without Ridley, the guard duo checks in No. 1 and No. 2 in scoring with 16.4 and 10.9 PPG respectively.
Eric Davis Jr. and Tevin Mack add to the guard depth that Texas has on its roster.
Inside, Connor Lambert scored just a single point in Texas's last game, but did produce 11 rebounds in the effort.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Longhorns sans Ridley are basically relegated to the outside where they're collection of guards can thrive. That can work against some teams, but not the Cyclones who dominate inside while holding their own outside as well - the beauty of a complete team.
Bank on Iowa State to get a lot of production from Niang and McKay in their fast paced offense with little competition for them inside the paint. The duo could combine to put up rather impressive numbers and carry the team to victory.
While Iowa State has faltered a bit in its last few games, the Longhorns have struggled, too and the Cyclones are much more likely to break out of their funk.
Iowa State 81, Texas 70
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