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Kansas and ISU clash in Big 12 semis Friday
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Published: 3/14/2014  at  6:34:00 AM
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IOWA STATE CYCLONES (24-7)

vs. KANSAS JAYHAWKS (24-8)

Big 12 Conference Tournament - Semifinals
Sprint Center - Kansas City, MO
Tip-off: Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Kansas -4, Total: 157

A berth in the Big 12 championship game is on the line as Kansas takes on Iowa State on Friday night in Kansas City.

The Jayhawks (16-15-1 ATS overall, 11-7-1 ATS in Big 12) swept the season series, winning by seven points in Ames on Jan. 13 and then by 11 in Lawrence on Jan. 29 behind 29 points and seven boards from SG Andrew Wiggins. The freshman has also been on a tear recently, scoring 41 points in the regular-season finale against West Virginia, then dropping 30 points in the 77-70 overtime victory against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 quarterfinals. With C Joel Embiid out for the remainder of the Big 12 Tournament with a back injury, the pressure is going to fall on Wiggins to take his game to another level. Like the Jayhawks, the Cyclones had to win a tough game in their Thursday quarterfinal matchup, defeating Kansas State, 91-85. Melvin Ejim, recently named Big 12 Player of the Year, backed up the award with 24 points and eight rebounds. The Cyclones (13-15-1 ATS, 7-12 ATS in Big 12) are looking to become the first team to win the Big 12 conference tournament as lower than a three seed, but will have to beat a Jayhawks club that has beaten them five straight times (4-1 ATS) in the past two seasons. Since 1997, Kansas holds a commanding 28-8 series edge SU, but is just 20-15 ATS in these contests.

Can Iowa State score a rare win over Kansas on Friday night? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The StatFox Experts have been rolling in college basketball Best Bets this season with a stellar 59.4% ATS (271-185-16) mark, including a hefty 61.3% ATS (239-151-10) record since Nov. 23. StatFox Brian is on an amazing Best Bets run of 22-3-2 (88% ATS) since Feb. 6, 31-6-3 (84% ATS) since Jan. 17, and 74% ATS (56-20-3) since Nov. 26 to give him a robust 70% ATS (63-27-4) record in Best Bets for the season. StatFox Dave is 64% ATS (39-22-1) since in Best Bets Dec. 18 and 60% ATS (56-37-2) this season, while StatFox Scott is 68% ATS (13-6-2) since Feb. 16 and 58% ATS (53-38-4) for the season. StatFox Gary is 60% ATS (48-32) on Best Bets since Nov. 22 and 57% ATS (52-40-2) for the season.

Iowa State enters this game ranked No. 1 in the country in assists (18.7 APG), sixth in scoring (82.8 PPG) and 19th in rebounding (39.1 RPG). The club also shoots 46.9% FG (51st in Div. I), but the defense suffers from the fast-paced offense. ISU allows 73.9 PPG (278th in nation) and compiles only 6.1 SPG (174th in Div. I) and 3.1 BPG (224th in nation). The Cyclones are so difficult to stop on offense because they have many guys that can score from anywhere on the floor. PF Melvin Ejim (18.4 PPG, 51% FG, 8.7 RPG) was named the conference's player of the year, and has been dominant this season. In a game against TCU, he scored a Big 12 record 48 points. While he is not the best shooter from deep (33% threes), he shoots well enough for opposing big men to have to come out and respect him. When that happens, he is able to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim quite often. With Joel Embiid out, the Jayhawks do not have the shot blocker at the rim that they usually do, and they have been exposed in that area in the past two games. While Ejim has been the star this season, the Cyclones also have another talented player in PG DeAndre Kane (16.9 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 5.8 APG). Kane is a nightmare for opposing teams to try and slow down because of his size and strength. He is shooting 37% from three-point range, but is also at his best when he is able to get to the rim. The Cyclones have not shot the ball as well from three (34%) as they usually do (37% last season), but still have the potential to catch fire from deep on any given night, especially SG Naz Long (6.9 PPG, 39% threes) who is 8-for-14 from three-point range in the past three games. SF Georges Niang (16.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.6 APG) and PF Dustin Hogue (10.6 PPG, 55% FG, 8.6 RPG) give the Cyclones the type of role players that make a team so dangerous to stop. Hogue is the glue guy on the team, and will play a big role in this game because of his ability to make plays without having the ball. Also, more than likely, he will draw the job of trying to slow Wiggins down.

Coming into the season, SG Andrew Wiggins (17.3 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.2 SPG) was hyped up to be the best recruit since LeBron James. He has been solid all season for the Jayhawks, but if the last two games are any indication of what he is going to do the rest of the way, look out. He is averaging 35.5 PPG on 60% FG in his past two games and has dominated in every area, connecting on 24-of-29 free throws (82%), with 8.0 RPG. With his size and athleticism, he is nearly impossible to guard. More importantly for the Jayhawks, when he is taking the game over like he has, it opens things up for players such as PF Perry Ellis (13.1 PPG, 54% FG, 6.4 RPG) and SG Wayne Selden Jr. (10.2 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.5 APG). Both of those guys have produced huge games this season, as Ellis went off for 20 points and six rebounds in the matchup with the Cyclones in Lawrence. Selden is a talented scorer, but has the size and strength to be a great defender. He drew the matchup of Marcus Smart on Thursday, and will see a lot of time against DeAndre Kane in this game. While these guys are the players that do the most scoring for the Jayhawks, it is PG Naadir Tharpe (8.9 PPG, 38% threes, 5.0 APG) that will decide how far this team goes. He has been inconsistent at times this season, but played a huge role in the first game in Ames with 23 points and six assists. He is the leader of a team that averages 79.5 PPG (25th in nation) on 49.6% FG (6th in Div. I) with 15.3 APG (35th in nation). Kansas is also a strong rebounding club (38.2 RPG, 33rd in Div. I) that produces 5.8 BPG (17th in nation), but allows a pedestrian 69.7 PPG (167th in Div. I). The Jayhawks have won six of the past eight Big 12 tournaments, and a win against the Cyclones would have them within one game of another title.


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