Iowa State Cyclones Must Not Take Texas Tech Red Raiders Lightly Without Star

The Iowa State Cyclones are coming off a nice win against the Utah Utes on the road and will now be heading home for their penultimate home game of the season against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

This Saturday should be a good game in Ames, and it will be another important matchup for the Cyclones. With the team now having a strong chance of trying to be a number one seed in March Madness, the next three games are going to be key.

Due to a recent injury to their star player, JT Toppin, the Red Raiders aren’t obviously the same team that they were with him healthy. However, they also shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is a program that has been able to win their last two games without their star and are still playing some good basketball.

With Toppin, they might have been one of the best teams in the Big 12, but even without him, the talent is there to make some noise. One of the reasons why the team has been able to perform is because of sophomore guard Christian Anderson. Recently, T.J. Otzelberger spoke with William Seals of On3 about the talented guard.

“I think now he commands the whole game. He expects his team to win. He knows where to pick his spots. He’s capable of going out like he did last game, scoring 30 if he needs to.”:

Cyclones Must Contain Anderson

Texas Tech's Christian Anderson shooting the ball — Texas Tech's Christian Anderson | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even though the Red Raiders are going to be without Toppin, they are still a threat as the No.16 team in the country. However, with Texas Tech being ranked in the Top 25, this is another opportunity for a resume-building win for Iowa State. With the showdown looming against the Arizona Wildcats, getting a victory in this one gives them a little bit of a buffer heading into that game.

In order to beat the Red Raiders, slowing down Anderson is going to be key. The sophomore has had an excellent season so far and has improved quite a bit from his freshman campaign. Without Toppin, he is being asked to do a little bit more scoring, which hasn’t been a problem.

Against the Cincinnati Bearcats, he was able to have a fantastic game, totaling 31 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. The Cyclones are fortunate that they will be able to throw a couple of different defenders at him throughout the game, and that could help potentially slow him down a little bit. However, without Toppin, Anderson will undoubtedly be the player that they need to stop.