Iowa St did exactly what they needed on Saturday, by getting a win on the road to end the two game skid. Granted, it wasn't against a top level team, but Iowa St has struggled in Bramlege, so a win is a win.
Having said that, their defensive issues are far from fixed. Kst is a below average shooting team, so playing zone majority of the time was an easy decision. It's easy to see Iowa St players are not used to playing zone. They got lost underneath and gave up a few easy baskets, but their athleticism also got them some easy steals and fast break points. Iowa St will obviously have to come up with something different against OU.
Offensively, Iowa St has been slowing it down more often. I think they finally realized it's very difficult to play that much pace with a short bench. Against Kst Saturday, Iowa St was without their 7th man, who is the first guard off the bench. However, they did get 19 minutes from a walk on guard, who had previously only came in for mop up time. If I were to guess, you'll see Iowa St play 8 guys tonight, as opposed to the seven they've played all season.
When you just look at the two teams matched up, and looking at their previous game, it's hard not to like Oklahoma to win. They missed some shots in the game in Norman, and Iowa St's Burton played spectacular, something he hasn't came close to, the last two games. Then there's the Hilton factor. This will be the first conference game with the students back, and I'm sure it'll be loud. Normally I would say the way Oklahoma can neutralize the noise is to start out hot, and get a decent lead, but Iowa St has proved that all they need to do is get a couple baskets in a row, and the crowd will try to will them back.
Honestly, the crowd is taken out of the game when Iowa St gets out front, then the opposing team has a quick run, and the crowd just becomes stunned, and its difficult to get them going again. See Baylor, the last two seasons.
I'll be there to watch, so hopefully it's a great game.
