What Iowa State Needs to Do Against Jackson State. And What It Needs to Not Do.

A tune-up, but as last year’s Iowa State showed, one that is not without risk.

The Game

Iowa State vs. Jackson State, in Ames

The Time

12:00 PM Central

The Television

ESPN+

The Opponent

You know Jackson State because of Snacks and Deion Sanders. They appear to be one of the rising HBCU athletic departments. They’re at the tail end of the gauntlet of buy games that are typical for HBCU men’s basketball teams, beginning SWAC play right after New Year’s. They aren’t expected to contend in the SWAC regular season—Texas Southern’s a moderate favorite there right now—but they aren’t out of the running for a two or three-seed in the SWAC tournament, so they’ve got a rather clear path to the NCAA Tournament, and a much more likely one than the Cyclones, for what it’s worth.

The Numbers

Vegas has Iowa State a 19.5-point favorite, with the total at 141.5. KenPom has Iowa State 95% likely to win, with a projected final of 81-62.

What Iowa State Needs to Do

Clean it up. Protect the ball. Jackson State does force some turnovers—defense is their strength—so this won’t be as easy as it sounds, but that strength is a relative one. This is a good game for Iowa State to focus on clean possessions ending with shots in the paint. Learn to maximize those. See what happens. And, of course, don’t do what they did against Florida A&M last year.

The Barking Crow's resident numbers man. Was asked to do NIT Bracketology in 2018 and never looked back. Fields inquiries on Twitter: @joestunardi.
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