Kansas @ Iowa State preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 16, 2019 ) Iowa State 78, Kansas 66

It wasn't pretty but Kansas survived season lows in field goals, shooting percentage and rebounds in its Big 12 home opener against a stingy West Virginia team. The third-ranked Jayhawks will open the road portion of the conference slate Wednesday against an Iowa State team that followed a humiliating non-conference defeat with a tough overtime loss to TCU.

Kansas overcame two first-half deficits of 10 points and took command when Udoka Azubuike and freshman Christian Braun converted three-point plays during a 13-2 stretch as Kansas took a 45-38 lead with 9:30 remaining. "Certainly, a typical (Bob) Huggins game that we’ve had with them especially when we’ve been at home," Kansas coach Bill Self told reporters. "That was one of the hardest first games to open conference play that we’ve had that I can remember and I thought the guys responded to the physicality after we were shocked initially. ... This is a time for us to get better and in a weird way, I do think we grew up." Iowa State lost 70-68 to Florida A&M - ranked No. 311 by KenPom - on New Year's Eve with star sophomore Tyrese Haliburton out with an injury, but the Cyclones came back strong against TCU before yielding a 3-pointer with eight seconds left to force overtime and falling to the Horned Frogs 81-79 on Saturday. Haliburton returned and recorded the sixth triple-double in program history, putting up 22 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in defeat.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET TV: None

ABOUT KANSAS (11-2, 1-0 Big Ten): Azubuike (13.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.2 blocks) posted his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with a career-high six blocks and helped the Jayhawks neutralize West Virginia freshman Oscar Tshiebwe in the second half. The Kansas big man shot 6-for-6 from the field, his third perfect shooting night in his last five games (24-for-29, 82.8 percent during that span). Sophomore guard Devon Dotson (team-leading totals of 18.5 points, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals) hit double-figures for the 13th time in as many outings this season with 16 points to go with four steals, and Marcus Garrett (9.2 points, 4.3 assists) added 12 points to go along with a team-high six assists, two steals and tremendous defense on Mountaineers forward Derek Culver.

ABOUT IOWA STATE (7-6, 0-1): Haliburton (17.7 points, 7.9 assists, 6.3 rebounds) shot 7-of-17 from the floor and missed a deep triple at the overtime buzzer against TCU in the first Cyclones triple-double since Monte Morris in 2016. The 6-5 guard, who played all 45 minutes, scored 22 points for the third consecutive game and leads the conference in assists and steals (2.6), is second in scoring and 10th in blocks (0.9). Freshman George Conditt IV (10.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, 19.4 minutes per game) came off the bench to score a career-high 19 points, grab six rebounds and block a shot in his 15th consecutive game - the fourth-longest streak in school history.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Kansas is 182-66 all-time against Iowa State, including a 70-40 advantage in Ames and a 26-22 edge in Hilton Coliseum.

2. The Cyclones have one of the most efficient offenses in college basketball, averaging 109.4 points/100 possessions) - 26th in the nation and second in the conference to Kansas (111.4) - but their defensive efficiency is last in the Big 12 (96.5) - three points higher than any other team.

3. Kansas beat West Virginia and won in Allen Fieldhouse when scoring 60 points or fewer for the first time since outlasting Oklahoma 59-58 on Feb. 5, 2006.

PREDICTION: Kansas 75, Iowa State 70