Houston Will Continue Dominance In Big 12

Iowa State vs. Houston, 2:00 ET

Thursday night, in my pickup basketball league, we needed a win. Our team probably played the best game of the season, and we were winning for 95% of the game. I missed the front end of a one-and-one and with nine seconds left, up two, the other team had the ball. They had a good look at a three that was missed. The ball bounced out perfectly to a different guy and in stride, he stepped into a three. I could barely turn around as I saw the ball sail through the net as the horn sounded. Brutal. I couldn't even sleep that night. Not only did I need a place to vent about this, but this also leads me to wonder if college kids are taking some of these games this hard. Iowa State takes on Houston in a game with significantly more meaning than my men's league, but let's get what I couldn't on Thursday - a win. 

This is a game that I have to imagine Iowa State really wants to steal from their conference foes. They are not going to win the regular season crown even with a victory, but it never hurts to move up the standings. For the entire season, the Cyclones have been one of the better teams in college basketball. They've been ranked in the top-10 for quite some time and are currently sitting at 8th in the rankings. Their record is a very solid 21-5, but four of those losses have been against conference foes. Where I have a bit of concern is that the Big 12 is good, but not a great conference. They are 11-4 overall, and the losses have come against West Virginia on the road, Arizona on the road, Kansas State at home, and Kansas on the road. They seemed to have corrected the course as they have won four straight games, but that was after dropping three straight and four of six games. They haven't played Houston yet this season, and traveling to Houston to take them on is not an easy task. 

Jan 4, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger and guard Tamin Lipsey (center) and forward Joshua Jefferson (left) against the Baylor Bears during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Houston has also been one of the best teams in the country, maintaining their top rankings for much of the season. They enter today's game with a 22-4 record and are 14-1 in Big 12 games. The lone loss that they suffered at the hands of a Big 12 opponent was against Texas Tech. Now, that is a good team, but Houston was at home so it was a tad bit surprising that they lost the game. Still, in the four losses that Houston has suffered this year, they have fallen by a combined 14 points. Four losses, 14 points. Not too bad and means they've either certainly been in every game they've played or have won them all. This team has a good balance of offense and defense and can match up with most teams. Again, I'm not huge on this conference, but there is a clear "best-in-class" and it is Houston. 

This one should be a fairly straight forward game. Houston is the better team, they are at home, and they have the better defense. The one concern, and I would say this is the concern of having a zit a month away from picture day, is that Texas Tech is looming next. Houston may look for revenge, but it would be very surprising to see them overlook Iowa State as a result of that game approaching. Back the Cougars in this one and hopefully we can get me some rest with a win here. 

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