Iowa State has matched the best start in program history while Baylor is the college leader in coming under scrutiny.
The Bears will strive to knock the No. 3 Cyclones from the unbeaten ranks when the two Big 12 rivals meet on Wednesday night at Waco, Texas.
Iowa State (14-0, 1-0) has 10 victories by 20 or more points while matching the best-start school mark of the 2013-14 squad, coached by Fred Hoiberg. The Cyclones routed visiting West Virginia 80-59 in their Big 12 opener on Friday.
Baylor (10-3, 0-1) established a season low for points in its Big 12 opener, losing 69-63 at TCU on Saturday.
That contest marked the controversial Bears’ debut of big man James Nnaji, who was an NBA second-round draft pick in 2023 and has played four seasons of pro ball in Europe.
When the 7-foot Nnaji entered the game, he was greeted with boos.
That reaction is tame compared to the opinions of some college coaches. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Arkansas’ John Calipari, St. John’s Rick Pitino and Gonzaga’s Mark Few are among those who sharply have criticized the decision to add Nnaji to the Baylor roster. The move was cleared by the NCAA.
The Nigerian-born Nnaji had five points, four rebounds and four fouls in 16 minutes against TCU.
Baylor coach Scott Drew maintains there has been no wrongdoing in terms of adding Nnaji to the roster.
“James did nothing wrong,” Drew said after the contest. “Baylor did nothing wrong, and I know he’s human and just making sure he doesn’t feel that. If James was an NBA player today, he would be in the NBA.”
Nnaji might not need to score much for Baylor, which has six players averaging in double digits.
Cameron Carr has led the attack with a 21.0 scoring average while shooting 57% from the field. Tounde Yessoufou is averaging 18.6 points and leads the squad with 31 steals.
The Bears average 93.1 points despite the low output against TCU. They have scored 110 points or more on four occasions, but the outputs came against light opposition in which Sacramento State was the toughest competitor.
The Cyclones have five players averaging in double digits in points, including the star trio of Milan Momcilovic (18.5), Joshua Jefferson (17.5) and Tamin Lipsey (14.0). Momcilovic has a team-best 58 3-pointers, and his 56.3% success rate led the nation entering the week.
He matched his career best of eight 3-pointers and scored 26 points in the victory over the Mountaineers.
“I know we’re going to talk about his shooting, and it’s amazing,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “But I’m really proud of him for the complete player that he is, and the defender, rebounder. I want to honor those things, too, because he’s worked really hard on all aspects of his game, and it’s paying off for him.”
Jefferson had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to post the ninth triple-double in Iowa State history. He leads the Cyclones in rebounding (7.3) and assists (5.4).
Otzelberger said Jefferson has a top-notch feel for the game.
“He can impact it on the glass, he can impact it with his passing, he can impact it with his scoring, getting downhill,” Otzelberger said. “And so, it’s just night-in and night-out, him taking advantage of all the skills that he has to impact winning, and then him continuing to trust his teammates, like he did (against West Virginia), and you end up with 10 assists.”
Iowa State has won five of the past six meetings with the Bears, including a 74-55 home victory in last season’s lone matchup.
