4. January 27: Kansas basketball at Iowa State
Playing a game in Hilton Coliseum is never easy. TJ Otzelberger has led the Cyclones to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and they bring in a roster chock full of talent this season. Tamin Lipsey and Wofford transfer Jackson Paveletzke should be the top performers for ISU, though they also acquired 5-star recruit Omaha Biliew and the No. 9 class in the nation.
Iowa State has finished 21st and 20th in defensive points per game under Otzelberger, respectively. They defeated Kansas 68-53 last year in Ames and held opponents under 60 points a total of 13 times. A conference road game versus a defensive-minded team often leads to some ugly losses.
While they are projected to finish as a middle-of-the-pack team in the Big 12, I’d still bet on the Cyclones receiving a good draw in March. They are an extremely young roster, but by the time these two teams play, we could be looking at a ranked matchup.