Fifth-seeded Iowa State will look to pad its NCAA Tournament resume when it faces upset-minded and 12th-seeded Arizona State on Wednesday in a Big 12 Conference tournament second-round game in Kansas City, Mo.
The Cyclones (25-6), ranked seventh in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, earned a bye into the second round via a fifth-place finish in the Big 12’s grueling regular season. Arizona State (17-15) defeated No. 13 seed Baylor 83-79 in the first round on Tuesday.
Iowa State and Arizona State played on Saturday in the regular-season finale, with the Cyclones leaning on their balanced offensive attack and a stifling defense to post an 86-65 home victory.
The Sun Devils led by four points at halftime but were walloped in the second half as they allowed the Cyclones to score 24 consecutive points while enduring a span of 10:42 without a field goal and missing 12 straight shots
Arizona State got back on track in Tuesday’s win as Anthony “Pig” Johnson racked up 19 points off the bench and the Sun Devils’ role players stepped up to fill the void left by leading scorer Maurice Odum, who was shackled by foul trouble in the first half.
Andrija Grbovic added 14 points for Arizona State on Tuesday, wit
