Power rankings: It's Leap Day for Houston, Saint Mary's and South Florida
Plus: One number to know for each of our top 16, RJ Davis and Dalton Knecht stay red hot and a reason for pause on UConn's repeat hopes.
theathletic.com
6. Iowa State (22-6)
Last week: 7
One number to know: 27.7
For anyone brave enough to watch Iowa State’s Wednesday night win over Oklahoma — or who had their eyelids taped open in front of that rock fight, like some sort of punishment — this number should not come as a crazy surprise. But that 27.7 represents the number of 2-point attempts opponents average against the Cyclones — which, shocker, is the fewest any team in the country allows. We love the heat maps at CBB A
nalytics, and these two depicting where opponents shoot against Iowa State are just gold:
TJ Otzelberger’s team gives up some stuff at the rim, but otherwise, that is exactly as frosty a defense as you’d like. Of course, that number isn’t so low strictly because the Cyclones force bad shots; they’re also just tough to get 2s off against, given the way they turn you over. ISU is second nationally in defensive turnover percentage, per KenPom, forcing turnovers on just over a quarter of their opponents’ possessions on average. The Cyclones’ eight steals vs. Oklahoma on Wednesday actually decreased their season-long average of 10.6 takeaways per game. No, the offense is not always brilliant. But in terms of gritty, mucky NCAA Tournament games, against teams you’ve sometimes only had one day to prepare for? You can do a lot worse than being elite at steals and not allowing 2s. — Marks
