By Daniel Hill
Sports Writer
Men to face Iowa State Cyclones in Ames
The Baylor Bears will travel to Ames, Iowa on Saturday to take on an Iowa State team that is undefeated at home in Big 12 Conference play.
The Bears were off to an exceptional start in big 12 play but faltered against Oklahoma to lose their first Big 12 home game. Baylor looks to regain momentum by giving Iowa State its first loss at James H. Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones have been formidable at home, including a win over No. 11 Kansas State.
The Bears have to improve their defense from Wednesday nights home loss to Oklahoma.
The Bears conceded 74 points to the Sooners and allowed Oklahoma to shoot 53 percent from the field.
After giving up a sizable lead to Oklahoma, Baylor head coach Scott Drew tinkered with the lineup and played with four guards and only one post player.
This lineup allowed Baylor to make a 10-0 run and get within one point of Oklahoma before ultimately losing 74-71.
Drew most likely will start his preferred three-guard lineup, as he has all year, against Iowa State. But Drew might go back to the four-guard lineup since it worked well against Oklahoma.
Iowa State has four players averaging double figures in scoring: Will Clyburn, Tyrus McGee, Georges Niang and Melvin Ejim.
Baylor and Iowa State have identical overall records at 14-6. The Kansas Jayhawks are in the Big 12’s driver’s seat with an unblemished 7-0 conference record and 19-1 overall record.
Baylor is tied for second place in the Big 12 standings at 5-2 with Kansas State and Oklahoma. Iowa State is tied for third place with Oklahoma State at 4-3.
Baylor has yet to beat top-notch conference competition on the road this season. Its only Big 12 road games have been victories over Texas Tech (2-5) and TCU (0-7).
Saturday’s showdown with a tough Iowa State team in a hostile environment could prove to be a pivotal game for the future of the Bears’ season.
By Parmida Schahhosseini
Staff Writer
Women off to Stillwater to play Cowgirls
The No. 1 Baylor Lady Bears (19-1, 9-0 Big 12) will take on Oklahoma State (15-4, 4-4 Big 12) at 7 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
This will be the second meeting between the two teams. Baylor defeated Oklahoma State 83-49 on Jan. 6.
Oklahoma State is coming off of a 67-61 loss against West Virginia, and has lost two of their last four against unranked teams. Stopping Baylor will be a tough task. The Lady Bears have momentum and are coming off a 30-point win against Texas Tech on Wednesday after a solid showing on both sides of the ball.
Baylor displayed its mental toughness after playing a relatively clean game through all the physical contact. Baylor kept its composure when Texas Tech began to make runs after making clutch buckets.
The Lady Bears’ ability to make halftime adjustments has kept opponents on their heels. After allowing five 3-pointers in the first half against Texas Tech, Baylor only allowed two in the second half by putting pressure on perimeter players.
Baylor’s defense turned up the pressure as they used their speed off of transitions to disrupt the Texas Tech offense. Texas Tech had trouble getting set, which is what allowed Baylor to keep their opponent under 50 percent shooting, holding them to 34.3 percent.
Despite a 17-point win against No. 21 Oklahoma last Saturday, head coach Kim Mulkey emphasized the problem they had with foul shots, going 11-of-25 for 44 percent. Baylor responded on Wednesday by shooting 71.4 percent from the line.
Baylor also addressed the issue of finishing games. The bench also contributed points in the closing minutes as they extended the lead to 30.
Griner had a big offensive night,scoring 40 points and grabbing 15 rebounds. The rest of the offense found their rhythm as they combined for 50 points. Griner will try to add to her Big 12-best point and block totals Saturday as Baylor tries to extend its regular season wins to 32 games in a row.
