Texas @ Iowa State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 1, 2020 ) Iowa State 68, Texas 72

There's a clear division between the teams primed for the NCAA Tournament in the Big 12 and the ones that are not, and Texas has served as a good barometer for each side. The Longhorns attempt to remain unbeaten against the teams with losing records in conference play Saturday when they eye a regular-season sweep of host Iowa State.

Texas has been in all but one game for over a month but fell to 4-6 over that span following Monday's 52-45 home loss to top-ranked Baylor, keeping coach Shaka Smart's squad winless in seven contests versus the five teams that are over .500 in league play. The Longhorns have encountered no such issues against the four Big 12 programs who own four or fewer victories in conference action, going 4-0 in those games - the last of which was a 72-68 win at home versus the Cyclones on Feb. 1. Picking up another victory against Iowa State may not prove to be as difficult as it was the first time around considering the Cyclones will play the rest of the season without do-everything guard Tyrese Haliburton (wrist). Iowa State can only hope its first game without Haliburton was not a harbinger of things to come after suffering its most lopsided loss of the season in Wednesday's 90-61 decision at Oklahoma.

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: ESPN2

ABOUT TEXAS (14-10, 4-7 Big 12): The Longhorns' bid to upset the Bears was hampered by the absences of Jase Febres (9.3 points, team-high 55 3-pointers) and freshman reserve big man Kai Jones after they suffered knee and ankle injuries, respectively, in the previous game; the status for both is uncertain for Saturday. Junior forward Jericho Sims (9.7 points, team-high 8.2 rebounds) finished 4-for-7 from the floor and contributed nine points to go along with 14 boards, but a nagging back injury may keep him out of Saturday's game. Junior guard Matt Coleman III (team-high 12.8 points) went 4-for-12 from the field versus the Bears but connected on two of his three 3-point attempts and is shooting a team-best 41.9 percent from long-range this season.

ABOUT IOWA STATE (10-14, 3-8): The absence of Haliburton (15.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.2 assists, 2.5 steals) really showed in the second half Wednesday as the Cyclones shot 34.5 percent and were outscored 50-25 after they could have entered the break with the lead. “Tyrese is not going to change giving up 90 points. You give up 90 points on the road, you’re not going to win. It’s ridiculous. We haven’t guarded the dribble all year. We’ve really struggled to keep people in front," coach Steve Prohm said afterward. Prentiss Nixon got the start in Haliburton's place and played the entire game, reaching double figures for the first time since Jan. 4 after finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Texas has won six of the last seven meetings.

2. Cyclones junior G Terrence Lewis scored a career-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting Wednesday and is 14-for-18 from the field (5-for-9 beyond the arc) over the last three contests.

3. Coleman is responsible for 17 of the Longhorns' 48 steals in conference action. None of his other teammates have more than six.

PREDICTION: Texas 69, Iowa State 65