Iowa State Cyclones Keys to Victory on Road Against Baylor Bears in Big 12 Clash

The Iowa State Cyclones face a stiff test heading on the road to play against the Baylor Bears.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) drives with the ball o the basket around Baylor Bears forward Norchad Omier (15) during the second half in the NCAA men’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones got their conference schedule off on the right foot, defeating the West Virginia Mountaineers 80-59 on Jan. 2 at Hilton Coliseum and holding onto the No. 3 spot in the AP Poll.

They are now preparing for their second Big 12 game of the season, this time heading on the road to Waco, Texas, to face off against the Baylor Bears. The Cyclones have to be ready for a motivated Baylor squad that dropped its first conference game on the road against the TCU Horned Frogs.

This is a huge game for Iowa State, going for some program history. A victory would push their record to 15-0 on the campaign, which would set the record for the most wins to begin a season without a loss.

What will it take for this year’s squad to claim that record? Here are four keys to victory for the Cyclones against the Bears.

Handling Road Atmosphere

Feb 1, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears fans react against the Kansas Jayhawks during the second half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

Winning basketball games on the road is never easy in college basketball, especially in conference play. Iowa State is going to visit some hostile environments, and Foster Pavilion will be one of the toughest.

KenPom ranks Baylor’s homecourt advantage as the 23rd in Division I. This is the first time in a month that the Cyclones will be playing away from Hilton Coliseum, so there could be an adjustment needed early on.

The last time they played a road game was Dec. 6. They went into Mackey Arena and defeated the No. 1-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in historic fashion. The Cyclones can certainly handle playing on the road, but need to take the crowd out of it as early as possible, as they did in West Lafayette.

Slowing Down High-Powered Offense

Dec 29, 2025; Waco, Texas, USA; Baylor Bears guard Dan Skillings Jr. (0) is fouled by Arlington Baptist Patriots guard Bryce Archie (3) during the first half at Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion. | Chris Jones-Imagn Images

The Bears have a lot of firepower on the offensive side of the ball. Six different players are averaging at least 10 points per game, led by Cameron Carr with 21. Baylor averages 93.1 points per game, which is 11th in the nation, and their 127.2 offensive rating on College Basketball Reference is sixth in the country.

This is an efficient group from all three levels of the floor. They make 51.0% of their shots overall, which is 18th in the country. Their 37.0% from 3-point range is 51st, and their 75.6% from the foul line is 61st.

Over at KenPom, they are efficient in every offensive category as well. They protect the ball and hit the offensive glass.

Crashing Offensive Glass

Jan 2, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) grabs the rebound against the West Virginia Mountaineers during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

This game could certainly be decided based on which team can end defensive possessions regularly by grabbing defensive rebounds. Both teams excel in that regard; Baylor ranks fourth with an offensive rebound percentage of 41.4, and Iowa State is 18th at 38.3%.

Where the teams differ is in offensive rebound prevention. The Cyclones do a great job of finishing possessions, ranking 48th in the country with 27.1% allowed. That is where they can take advantage of Baylor.

The Bears struggle to keep opponents off the offensive glass. They are 244th, allowing 32.8% of offensive rebounds. It will be interesting to see if their midseason addition of James Nnaji helps change that.