Iowa State @ Kansas State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 16, 2019 ) Iowa State 78, Kansas State 64

Even though a drive from Iowa State to the Sprint Center lasts about 3 1/2 hours, some have dubbed the Kansas City, Mo. venue "Hilton (Coliseum) South" given the home-court advantage the Cyclones seem to enjoy at the Big 12 Tournament. After cruising to a quarterfinal win in their first game of the event Thursday, No.5 seed Iowa State hopes it can count on a similar support Friday when it meets top-seeded and 14th-ranked Kansas State in the semifinals.

The Cyclones, who have won three of the last five Big 12 Tournaments - all at the Sprint Center - dropped five of six to close the regular season after pulling out a road victory versus the Wildcats on Feb. 16, but their confidence did not appear to be shaken at any point during Thursday's 83-66 victory against Baylor. "This is the elite conference tournament in the country and our fans always travel well. Until you get here, there's nothing really like it. Iowa State and the Big 12 in Kansas City is surreal and tomorrow will be even better at six o'clock (Central Time) on a Friday night," Iowa State coach Steve Prohm told reporters. Kansas State won for the sixth time in seven tries since the loss to the Cyclones with Thursday's 70-61 triumph against TCU, turning an 18-9 edge in turnovers into a 22-4 advantage in points off miscues. "For about 30 minutes of the game, I felt like we came out and played Kansas State defense. We pressured the ball, deflected passes, got rebounds also and got out in transition," Wildcats all-conference guard Barry Brown Jr. said.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT IOWA STATE (21-11): The Cyclones' fade down the stretch was due in part to their lack of efficiency beyond the arc, but freshman Talen Horton-Tucker (5-for-9) and All-Big 12 first-team selection Marial Shayok (4-for-7) led the charge in that regard Thursday as Iowa State buried 13 of its 25 3-point attempts. Shayok (18.6 points) finished with 18 points versus the Bears and has scored at least 17 points in 25 of his 31 outings; the Big 12's second-leading scorer is shooting 55.8 percent from the field over his last four games. Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year Lindell Wigginton (13.5) has scored 16 or 17 points in four straight contests while averaging nine free throw attempts over that stretch.

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (25-7): With All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade (12.9 points, 6.2 rebounds) likely to miss the entire tournament with a foot injury, it was junior forward Xavier Sneed (10.3, 5.4) who stepped up Thursday with 19 points (including 16 in the second half), seven boards and five assists. Brown (team-high 15.0 points) shot only 5-of-16 versus the Bears, but his 12 points were enough to allow him to become only the fourth player in program history to reach double figures in 90 career games. The Wildcats got a boost from reserve guard Cartier Diarra, who finished with eight points in 29 minutes after missing the previous eight contests with a hand injury.

TIP-INS

1. Brown scored 23 points in both meetings against the Cyclones this season, shooting 19-of-36 from the field while playing 76 of a possible 80 minutes.

2. Iowa State is 11-1 when making 10 or more 3-pointers.

3. Wildcats coach Bruce Weber notched his 150th win with Kansas State on Thursday, joining Jack Hartman and Tex Winter as the only coaches to reach that mark at the school.

PREDICTION: Iowa State 73, Kansas State 66