Oklahoma @ Iowa State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 4, 2019 ) Iowa State 75, Oklahoma 74

Iowa State’s chances of winning the Big 12 regular season may have ended when the 20th-ranked Cyclones dropped their second consecutive game 75-72 to TCU Saturday, falling three games back of first place Kansas State. The Cyclones will look to get back on track Monday when they host an Oklahoma squad that have won two straight after snapping a five-game losing streak.

“We have to do some soul searching,” Iowa State guard Lindell Wigginton told reporters after missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday. “We have to buy into what the coaches are saying. The coaches are saying the right things. We just have to go out there and do it every night.” The Cyclones suffered through their worst 3-point shooting night in years against the Horned Frogs as they went 2-for-20 from downtown – the fewest converted 3s for the program since going 2-for-10 against Colorado in 2015. Oklahoma has little room for error as it looks to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive and Saturday’s 69-67 Sooners victory over Texas showed they haven’t given up on their goal. “There were five games that we knew we have to win as many as we could,” Oklahoma forward Kristian Doolittle told the media. “Going to TCU (Feb. 16) and winning that game, and then win this one (against Texas), it’s just something to build off of as we go into Iowa State.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT OKLAHOMA (17-10, 5-9 Big 12): Christian James sits fifth in the conference in scoring (15.5 points per game) and netted a team-high 19 points Saturday after averaging 9.8 points over his previous seven Big 12 contests. Freshman Jamal Bieniemy recorded a team-high eight assists Saturday while swatting two shots, included a crucial block at the buzzer on a potential game-winning 3-pointer. Sophomore Brady Manek had 12 points and five rebounds Saturday and helped the Sooners build a 42-28 halftime lead by going 2-for-2 from downtown en route to eight first-half points.

ABOUT IOWA STATE (19-8, 8-6): Leading scorer Marial Shayok (18.6 points per game) battled foul trouble against TCU and was limited to a season-low four points in 16 minutes. Sophomore Cameron Lard has averaged 8.1 points on 80 percent shooting (28-for-35) over his last eight games – raising his season scoring average (5.9) in each of those contests. Michael Jacobson led four double-figure scorers Saturday as the forward tallied 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

TIP-INS

1. Iowa State is 16-1 this season when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.

2. Oklahoma’s last four regular season games are against teams it has lost to already this season (Iowa State, West Virginia, No. 12 Kansas and No. 21 Kansas State).

3. Wigginton has averaged 21.3 points in three career meetings against the Sooners.

PREDICTION: Iowa State 73, Oklahoma 66