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No. 20 ISU hosts No. 18 Arkansas Thursday
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Published: 12/4/2014  at  5:20:00 AM
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ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS (6-0)

at IOWA STATE CYCLONES (4-1)

Hilton Coliseum - Ames, IA
Tip-off: Thursday, 9:00 p.m.
Line: Iowa State -7.5

Two top-20 teams face each other in Ames on Thursday night as No. 20 Iowa State hosts No. 18 Arkansas in the marquee game of the Big 12/SEC challenge.

The Razorbacks (3-2 ATS) are looking to continue their undefeated start to the season, but they will be facing their most difficult task. Arkansas is looking to play a fast-paced game, and has been very successful against great outside shooting teams under head coach Mike Anderson, going 9-2 ATS (82%) versus teams that make at least eight three-pointers per game. The Cyclones (2-2 ATS) average 8.6 made threes per game. One thing that has prevented Arkansas from making the tournament in Anderson's stint as the coach is the inability to win on the road, going 10-20 ATS (33%), which includes a 2-15 ATS mark (12%) when coming off a double-digit victory like the 94-77 win over Iona on Sunday. The Hogs will be facing a difficult matchup in Ames, against a Cyclones team that has lost only two home games since Jan. 11, 2012, and both defeats are to Kansas. So far this season, ISU has won its three home games by an average score of 90 to 66, while outshooting visiting schools 50.8% FG to 43.5% FG. These are two of the top scoring teams in the country, and Iowa State has been terrific in the past three seasons when it scores at least 81 points, going 26-11 ATS (70%) in this scenario. There are no significant injuries for either school.

Can Arkansas stay undefeated by beating a talented ISU team on the road? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks. The experts have begun the 2014-15 season with a bang, posting a collective 59% ATS mark (51-35) in Best Bets. The five experts are led by StatFox Gary's stellar 72% ATS mark (13-5), while StatFox Zach is 65% ATS (11-6), and StatFox Brian is 59% ATS (10-7) to open the season.

The Razorbacks have been clicking on the offensive end of the court this season, leading the nation in assists (20.7 APG), and ranking third in scoring (90.0 PPG), 59th in rebounding (39.3 RPG) and 74th in shooting (47.0% FG). Leading the way for Arkansas is SG Michael Qualls (15.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 46% threes) and PF Bobby Portis (14.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 1.5 BPG). These two form one of the best inside-outside duos in the SEC, with Portis taking a big step from his freshman campaign. PG Rashad Madden (11.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, 47% threes) has done a great job running this offense with a 2.6 Ast/TO ratio. Iowa State is the team that is known to shoot the ball from deep, but the Razorbacks have been incredible from deep, shooting 46.1% from threes (4th in nation). Their leading shooter from downtown is SG Anthlon Bell (13.2 PPG, 1.2 APG, 49% threes), who is 19-of-39 from long range this season. One of the best times to shoot from deep is off offensive rebounds, and the Razorbacks average 14.7 offensive boards per game. C Moses Kingsley (6.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG) actually has more offensive rebounds (17) than defensive rebounds (10) this season. The Cyclones have had some struggles on the glass, so that could be a huge role in this game.

Like Arkansas, Iowa State does a very good job of sharing the ball, ranking 10th in the nation in assists (18.6 APG). The Cyclones also rank 16th in scoring (83.4 PPG), 60th in shooting (47.5% FG) and 172nd in rebounding (35.6 RPG). There are many guys who can score for Fred Hoiberg's team, with SF Georges Niang (18.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 3.0 APG) leading the way. Niang is versatile enough to play all five positions for the Cyclones. He does a great job of getting the team into their offense, while pulling the opponent’s big guy out from the basket. However, he is shooting a career-low 30% from threes (6-for-20), and needs to make opponents respect his jumper more. Once his shots start falling, that will open up driving lanes for PG Bryce Dejean-Jones (14.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 3.8 APG) and PF Dustin Hogue (11.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 43% threes) to attack the rim. Both of these guys do a nice job of finishing at the basket, giving Iowa State guys who can break down opponents off the dribble. Dejean-Jones is coming off a monster game versus Lamar on Tuesday when he recorded 12 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and four steals. A staple in the Iowa State offense is the ability to hit the three-point shot, but the team has made only 34.4% of its long-range tries this season. However, both SGs Naz Long (12.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 39% threes) and Matt Thomas (11.0 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 47% threes) can both flat shoot the ball. Add in PG Monte Morris (9.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.8 RPG), and the Cyclones are one of the most complete offensive teams in college basketball.


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