Men's Basketball: TCU Returns Home to Battle No. 25 Iowa State
The No. 17 TCU men’s basketball team will return home and put its 11-game winning streak to the test versus the No.25-ranked Iowa State Cyclones.
TCU (13-1 overall) enters the game with a perfect, 2-0 Big 12 Conference record following a 17-point comeback win at No. 19 Baylor.
Junior guard Mike Miles Jr. spearheaded the turnaround with a career-high 33 points, featuring TCU’s first 13 points of the second half. Miles appeared on the Wooden Award midseason watch list earlier this week.
The Horned Frogs had four players break double-digit scoring, including sophomore center Eddie Lampkin (15 points) and senior forward Emanuel Miller (13). Lampkin and Miller have emerged as two of the Big 12’s top rebounders and average a combined 13.9 rebounds per game.
A flurry of fast break points helped the Horned Frogs close in on the Bears. TCU outscored Baylor 23-2 in transition and retained the nation’s top spot for fast break points scored per game (21.86 points).
Those fast break points might come at a premium against the Big 12’s No. 1 scoring defense (57.5 points per game allowed).
Iowa State has maintained a clean conference start as well (11-2 overall, 2-0 Big 12) by surviving a 63-60 showdown against Oklahoma. A pair of free throws from senior center Osun Osunniyi with 5.4 seconds left pushed the Cyclones past the Sooners. Oklahoma missed a last-second three-point attempt.
Senior guard Caleb Grill scored a game-high 20 points in the win and snagged four steals. Osunniyi added 12 points and senior guard Jaren Holmes chipped in 10. Osunniyi added two blocks and eight rebounds while Holmes dished out four assists.
The Cyclones also snagged a home-win over Baylor in the conference opener. A victory over then-No. 1 North Carolina highlights Iowa State’s non-conference slate.
Holmes and Grill typically lead Iowa State’s scoring attack with 13.2 and 11.5 points respectively. Holmes transferred from St. Bonaventure where he earned Atlantic-10 Second Team All-Conference honors in 2020-21. Grill moved into the starting lineup after coming off the bench last season.
Osunniyi is another new addition to the Cyclones starting lineup. The St. Bonaventure graduate transfer earned the Atlantic-10 Defensive Player of the Year award twice and left as the program’s all-time leader in blocks.
Iowa State and TCU both use defense to power their offenses and boast the Big 12’s best turnover margins (ISU +7.31, TCU +6.29) and two of the top defensive field goal percentages (ISU 39%, TCU 39.2%).
The Horned Frogs and Cyclones split last year’s matchups as each team grabbed a victory on the opponent’s home floor. TCU holds a 14-13 series advantage.
Saturday’s game will tip off at 1pm from Schollmaier Arena and will be televised on ESPNU.
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