Cyclones Face Oklahoma State At Big 12 Championship

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AMES, Iowa - No. 23 Iowa State (20-10, 12-6 Big 12) begins play at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Thursday at 11:30 a.m. when it faces Oklahoma State (20-11, 9-9 Big 12) at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Where: Kansas City, Mo. - Sprint Center (18,972)
When: Thursday, March 9, 11:30 a.m. (CST)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/TuneIn Radio App
Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Color)
TV: ESPN2
Talent: Bob Wischusen (PxP), Fran Fraschilla (Color); Holly Rowe (Reporter)
Webcast: WatchESPN
Sirius/XM: 137/199/953 (Internet)
Live Stats: Available at Cyclonestats.com

Game #31-Oklahoma State
• No. 23 Iowa State begins the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a quarterfinal matchup against Oklahoma State Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Kansas City...the Cyclones are 7-2 at the tournament since 2013, which included back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015...ISU swept the regular season against OSU and has won nine consecutive games in the series dating back to 2013.
#CycloneNotes
• Iowa State has won six of its last seven games as it enters postseason play...among top-six leagues, only Kansas (8) had more wins in February than the Cyclones (7)...seven other schools from those leagues also had seven February wins.
• ISU has won 20 games overall and at least 10 Big 12 games in each of the last six seasons...ISU and Kansas are the only Big 12 schools with at least 10 league wins in the last six seasons...Steve Prohm has won at least 20 games in his first six seasons as a head coach...among current Power-5 teams, only six coaches have won 20+ games in their first six seasons as a head coach (Prohm, Shaka Smart (UT), Jamie Dixon (TCU), Thad Matta (OSU), Jim Christian (BC), Bruce Pearl (Auburn)).
• Monté Morris collected All-Big 12 First Team honors after a terrific regular season...he has also been named an All-American by USA Today and NBCSports.com, becoming Iowa State's 20th player to earn All-America honors...Morris leads the Cyclones with 16.2 points and 6.2 assists...he is the only player nationally averaging 16.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.0 rpg and fewer than 2.0 turnovers per game...Morris is averaging just one turnover per game...since February 1, Morris is averaging 16.7 points and 7.5 assists with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 11.3.
• In Big 12 play, Morris averaged one turnover every 45.9 minutes he played... he is first nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (6.17) and is also the nation's active career leader (4.81)...only seven times in NCAA Division I men's basketball history has a player led the nation in any stat category three times in their career as Morris is on pace to do...since 1996-97, no DI player has averaged 35 minutes, 5.0 assists and 1.0 turnovers per game in a season.
• The Cyclones had four players earn All-Big 12 honors, matching Kansas for the most players in the Big 12 on either the first, second, third or honorable mention lists...along with Morris (first team), Nazareth Mitrou-Long (second), Deonte Burton (third) and Matt Thomas (honorable mention) also were recognized...in the last two seasons, ISU and Kansas lead the league with nine honorees among those groups.
• Mitrou-Long (89) and Thomas (78) have been making threes at a clip never before seen by an ISU duo...the pair has combined to make 167 threes, the most by any ISU duo in a season...combined they've shot 41.1 percent from behind the arc...in the last 12 games, they've averaged 6.9 threes made per game at a 48.2 percent clip.
• As a team, ISU is 17th in 3-point percentage (39.9 percent) and 14th making 10.0 threes per game...this season marks the first time since 2013-14 that ISU has had five players with at least 30 made 3-pointers...in the last 11 games, nobody has been Donovan Jackson is 18-for-29 (62.1%) on 3-pointers...ISU's next made three will be its 300th for just the third time in school history.
• Deonte Burton leads ISU in steals (55) & blocks (44) this season and is aiming to become the first Cyclone to lead the team in both categories since Royce White (2011-12)...only five Big 12 players have ever averaged 14 ppg and had 50 steals/40 blocks.
• ISU continues to rank among the nation's top teams in taking care of the basketball, allowing it to overcome lack of rebounding...the Cyclones average 10.2 turnovers per game, which leads the Big 12 and is eighth nationally...ISU's turnover percentage of 14.1 is No. 3 nationally and its turnover margin (+4.8) is fourth nationally...ISU has had fewer turnovers than its opponents in 25 of 30 games.

Iowa State Quick Hitters
• Iowa State has sold out 31 of the last 35 games at Hilton Coliseum...ISU is 26-5 at Hilton Coliseum under Prohm.
• ISU has been to a school-record five consecutive NCAA Tournaments...the Cyclones have made two Sweet 16 appearance in the last three seasons...ISU seeks to become the first school from the state of Iowa to reach six consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
• The Cyclones have won two of the last three Big 12 Tournament titles.
• Wins By Big 12 Teams Since 2011-12: Kansas 172, Baylor 148, Iowa State 142.
• ISU has won 20 games the last six seasons...Steve Prohm has won at least 20 games in each of his six seasons as a head coach.
• Iowa State is one of 29 schools to win 20+ games the last five seasons...only 13 teams in the nation's top-six conferences (Big East, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, SEC) have won 20+ games five consecutive seasons.
• The Cyclones have won at least 10 league games in each of the last six seasons, which is a school record.
• The Cyclones have won 44 of their last 50 games at home, including 25 of 30 league games.
• The Cyclones are 33-12 under Prohm when committing fewer turnovers than their opponent...ISU has had fewer turnovers than its opponent in 25 of 30 games this season, including 11 games with fewer than 10 miscues.
• Morris has 736 assists and 153 turnovers in 135 career games...ISU is 62-21 when Morris has at least five assists.
• Morris has 15 career games with 10 or more assists...his assist-to-turnover ratio in those games is 8.9 (161 assists/18 turnovers)...the rest of the Big 12 players have a combined 11 10-assist games.
• ISU is 8-0 this season and 18-3 under Prohm when outrebounding its opponent.
• ISU is ranked 317th nationally with just 513 free throws attempted (17.1 per game)...its opponents are averaging just 15.9 free throw attempts per contest...ISU has averaged 21.5 FT attempts the last six games.
• ISU's three starting guards (Morris, Thomas, Mitrou-Long) are shooting a combined 82.4 percent from the FT line (173-210).
• In games which he hits a 3-pointer, Donovan Jackson is averaging 9.7 points and shooting 56.3 percent (54-96) from the field and 58.5 percent (38-65) from 3-point range...Jackson has hit 18-of-30 three-pointers (60 percent) the last 11 games...he has scored in double figures in five of the last 11 games...ISU is 2-5 when Jackson doesn't score.
• Entering the season, 66.1 percent of Mitrou-Long's made field goals were 3-pointers...this season that number is 53.6 percent...Mitrou-Long is shooting 62.6 percent on 2-point field goals.
• Morris is currently second in the Big 12 with 6.2 assists per game...he is trying to become the first player to lead the league three consecutive seasons since Doug Gottlieb (Oklahoma State) did it from 1998-2000.
• In Big 12 play, Morris averaged one turnover every 45.9 minutes played...in the second half of Big 12 games, Morris had just six turnovers in 345 minutes played (one TO every 57.5 second-half minutes).
• Morris and Mitrou-Long average a combined 32.2 points, third-most among Big 12 teammates...in conference play, the total jumped to 33.7 ppg.
• Morris is the second player in school history to record four 100-assist seasons (Gary Thompkins, 1985-88).
• Morris is first nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio at 6.17...Morris has the 2nd and fourth best single season marks in NCAA history and is trying to take the record back (Casey Benson, Oregon, 4.88)...in Big 12 Conference games, Morris owned a 7.9 a/to ratio...next best in the league is KU's Devonte' Graham at 2.4.
• Morris has 68 assists and six turnovers in the last nine games.
• In his career, Morris has accounted for 3,433 points via scoring and assisting (25.4 ppg).
• Morris has the second-most wins in ISU history having played in 96 career wins...Georges Niang is first at 98 wins played in, while Mitrou-Long and Thomas have played in 94 wins each.
• Iowa State has 11 games with 10 or more steals...among the top-6 leagues, only West Virginia (16) has more.
• Mitrou-Long (251) and Thomas (243) have surpassed 200 career 3-pointers made...this season, they have combined to make 167, the most among Big 12 teammates and most by any ISU duo.
• Burton is averaging 1.8 steals per game...the last ISU player to average 2.0+ spg was Curtis Stinson in 2006.
• Burton has made more threes (35) this year as he did his first three seasons combined.
• Iowa State is the only team with three players ranked in the top 10 of the Big 12 in scoring.
• Mitrou-Long is shooting a career-best 47.4 percent from the field (previous high: 44.9 percent in 2014-15).
• Mitrou-Long is averaging 18.4 points the last seven games...he's scored 22 or more points three times in that stretch.
• No player in school history has attempted more 3-pointers than Mitrou-Long (657).
• Also in the last seven games, ISU is averaging 16.9 assists and shooting 78 percent at the line.
• In addition to having the third-best turnover percentage in the nation (14.1%), ISU is fifth in steal percentage (6.4).
• ISU's 39.9 3-point FG percentage is the fourth-best mark in school history: 1. 41.7, 2000-01; 2. 41.6, 1989-90; 3. 40.1, 1996-97.
• ISU's 10.6 three-pointers made in Big 12 play was the third-highest mark since the creation of the Big 12.
• ISU ranks among KenPom.com's top 50 in adjusted offensive efficiency (18) and defensive efficiency (42)...in the KenPom era (since 2001-02), its the best defensive efficiency since 2005 (10)...the Cyclones are No. 24 in KenPom rankings.
• ISU is 11-1 when Solomon Young plays at least 15 minutes and 6-1 with him as a starter.
• Morris, Mitrou-Long and Thomas have won two Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships each.

Last Time Out - Cyclones Fall At West Virginia
• Iowa State fell to West Virginia Friday night in Morgantown, snapping a six-game win streak...the Cyclones trailed 43-42 at the half but ultimately fell 87-76 in the regular season finale.
• Mitrou-Long led four players in double figures with 22 points...he hit 6-of-11 threes...also in double figures were Morris and Burton with 17 points, and Thomas with 16.
• The Cyclones made 13 three-pointers, their fourth game in the last five with 12 or more 3-pointers.
• ISU was 17-for-21 at the charity stripe.

Iowa State-Oklahoma State Series Notes
• Iowa State and Oklahoma State are meeting for the 126th time in the series...OSU owns a 63-62, but the Cyclones have won the last nine games dating back to 2013.
• OSU leads 12-6 in neutral site games...the teams are meeting for the fifth time in the Big 12 Championship, with OSU owning a 3-1 edge...the last meeting came at the 2009 Big 12 Championship with OSU winning 81-67...other meetings were 2006, 2004 and 2000.
• The last 12 games in the series have been decided by an average of 4.7 points, with one going to triple OT and another single OT.
• The Cyclones swept the season series, winning by 10 in Stillwater and by three in Ames in the second to last regular season game.
• In 2014, Mitrou-Long hit a pair of huge threes against the Cowboys...the first came at the end of the second overtime to sent it to a third...later, in the regular season finale, he hit a three at the buzzer to force OT...ISU won both games.
• Steve Prohm is 4-0 against OSU and 2-0 against Brad Underwood.
• ISU is 365-554 all-time against current Big 12 schools.

ISU Conference Championship History
• The Cyclones earned the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Championships after tying for second place during the regular season...this is the third time Iowa State has been the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Championship (1997, 2014)...ISU won the tournament in 2014, beating KSU, KU before beating Baylor in the finals.
• Iowa State has won six of its last seven games at the championship...the Cyclones won the tournament in 2014 and 2015, but fell in the first round to Oklahoma in 2016.
• ISU is 14-17 in Big 12 Championship history with three Big 12 titles (2000, 2014, 2015).
• ISU is 72-89 all-time in conference tournaments with five league tournament championships (1955-Big Seven; 1959-Big Eight; 1996-Big Eight; 2000-Big 12; 2014-Big 12; 2015-Big 12).
• ISU has earned nine first-round byes, including the last six seasons: 1997, 2000, 2001, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017.
• Morris has 27 career assists at the Big 12 Championship...he needs just five assists to move into top-10 for career assists in Big 12 Championship play.

Cyclones Face Oklahoma State At Big 12 Championship

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Players Mentioned

Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

Nazareth Mitrou-Long

Georges Niang

Matt Thomas

Solomon Young

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Cyclones Face Oklahoma State At Big 12 Championship

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Deonte Burton

Donovan Jackson

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Georges Niang

Matt Thomas

Solomon Young

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