Red Raiders come calling on 11th-ranked Cyclones

Feb 7, 2015 - 3:52 PM Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Revenge is a powerful motivator, and the 11th- ranked Iowa State Cyclones have that going for them as they welcome the Texas Tech Red Raiders to Hilton Coliseum for Saturday's Big 12 Conference clash.

The two teams met in Lubbock on Jan. 24, and the Red Raiders shocked the Cyclones in a 78-73 final. Texas Tech hit 11-of-24 3-points attempts, while Iowa State went just 6-of-31. Toddrick Gotcher hit five treys off the bench for the home team, and Devaugntah Williams finished with 22 points. The Cyclones were led by Monte' Morris with 20 points, while Matt Thomas contributed 12 points off the bench, and Georges Niang chipped in with 10.

As a result, Iowa State's lead in the all-time series currently sits at 14-12. The Cyclones have won five of the last seven meetings.

Texas Tech comes in at 12-11 overall and just 2-8 in conference, which has it just ahead of last-place TCU (14-8, 1-8 Big 12) heading into the weekend. The Red Raiders beat visiting Kansas State on Wednesday, 64-47, but it was only their second win in the last 10 games. Tech is 0-6 in true road tests this season, and 0-8 outside of Lubbock all told when you factor in its 0-5 record in neutral-site affairs.

Iowa State owns a 16-5 record, which includes a 6-3 league ledger. The Cyclones, who are tied with West Virginia for second place in the conference standings, are fresh off an 89-76 loss at No. 8 Kansas, which put an end to a modest two-game win streak. It was also the team's third straight road defeat. ISU has dominated the competition in Ames however, going 12-0 in front of the hometown faithful this season.

Williams was high man once again for Texas Tech in its recent win over Kansas State, as he tallied 22 points by going 6-of-9 from the field, including three 3-pointers, and 7-of-9 at the charity stripe. Gotcher came off the bench to net 15 points and Robert Turned added 13 points for the Red Raiders, who shot 53.7 percent from the floor, 47.4 percent out on the perimeter, and committed only nine turnovers. Conversely, the Wildcats made good on only 38.8 percent of their total shots, missing two-thirds of their 18 3-point tries, and they went just 3-of-6 at the foul line.

Williams is the only player averaging double figures for Texas Tech at the moment, but his 10.7 ppg certainly aren't going to scare many opponents. As a result, the Red Raiders put up a rather anemic 63.1 ppg by hitting only 40.5 percent of their field goal attempts, which includes a 31.6 percent showing beyond the arc, while at the same time permitting only 62.9 ppg behind typical shooting outputs of .411 overall and .326 from long range. Texas Tech owns a favorable margin in rebounding (+3.2), but is guilty of more than 14 giveaways per contest.

Niang poured in 24 points and was joined in double figures by three of his teammates, but still Iowa State came out on the short end in last Monday's showdown with first-place Kansas. Bryce Dejean-Jones nearly logged a double- double as he finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Niang and Morris combined for 10 of the team's 17 assists. Overall, the Cyclones shot just 41.7 percent from the floor, while the Jayhawks found the bottom of the net on 50.8 percent of their total shots, which included a 10-of-21 effort from 3-point range. Both teams did a lot work near the basket, combining for 80 points in the paint.

Iowa State is one of the more potent offensive teams in the country, as it averages a Big 12-best 80.1 ppg in hitting 48.6 percent of its field goal attempts. A total of five players are currently netting double digits, with Niang spearheading the effort with 15.6 ppg. Dejean-Jones is next with 12.9 ppg to go with his club-best 6.0 rpg, while Naz Long (11.7 ppg), Morris (11.1 ppg, 5.6 apg) and Dustin Hogue (10.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg) have all performed admirably as well. The Cyclones' defensive stance typically allows the opposition close to 70 ppg, but it limits them to 41.9 percent field goal efficiency.