No. 5 seed Iowa State (20-11, 9-9) vs. No. 4 seed Baylor (19-12, 10-8)
Big 12 Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri; Thursday, 11:30 a.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Iowa State and Baylor are set to do battle in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals. Baylor swept the two-game regular season series. The teams last faced each other on Feb. 19, when the Bears shot 43.3 percent from the field en route to the four-point victory.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED: Baylor has been fueled by senior leadership while Iowa State has relied on freshmen this year. Seniors Makai Mason, Mario Kegler and King McClure have collectively accounted for 39 percent of Baylor's scoring this season. On the other side, freshmen Talen Horton-Tucker, Lindell Wigginton and Tyrese Haliburton have combined to score 36 percent of the team's points this year and have accounted for 42 percent of all Cyclones points over their last five.
TERRIFIC TALEN: Horton-Tucker has connected on 31.2 percent of the 141 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 4 of 11 over his last three games. He's also converted 63 percent of his free throws this season.
SLIPPING AT 75: Iowa State is 0-7 when it allows at least 75 points and 20-4 when it holds opponents to less than 75.
PERFECT WHEN: Baylor is a perfect 10-0 when the team makes 10 or more 3-pointers. The Bears are 9-12 when the team hits fewer than 10 threes.
BALL SECURITY: The diligent Iowa State offense has turned the ball over on 16.1 percent of its possessions, the 28th-best mark in Division I. 20 percent of all Baylor possessions have resulted in a turnover (the Bears are ranked 269th, nationally).
