Arizona men's basketball: Scouting report for Saturday's game at Iowa State

No. 22 Arizona (19-9, 13-4) at No. 9 Iowa State (21-7, 11-6) | Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa | 7 p.m. Saturday | ESPN | 1290-AM

Probable starters

ARIZONA

G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)

F Henri Veesaar (7-0 sophomore)

C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)

IOWA STATE

G Keshon Gilbert (6-4 senior)

G Tamin Lipsey (6-1 junior)

F Joshua Jefferson (6-9 junior)

F Milan Momcilovic (6-8 sophomore)

C Dishon Jackson (6-11 senior)

How they match up

The last time: After missing nine of his first 10 shots, Arizona guard Caleb Love threw in a 60-foot buzzer-beater to send Arizona’s Jan. 27 game against Iowa State at McKale Center into overtime, and the Wildcats went on to beat the Cyclones 86-75. Arizona shot 43.9% overall and barely outrebounded Iowa State 40-39 but scored 22 points off 18 Iowa State turnovers.

Series history: Arizona leads 5-3. Before joining Iowa State in the Big 12, the Wildcats last beat the Cyclones 71-66 in the first round of the 2018-19 Maui Invitational.

What’s new with the Cyclones: Thanks in part to health issues, Iowa State hasn’t been quite the same since its Jan. 27 loss to Arizona. Then ranked No. 3, the Cyclones went on to lose at Kansas State and to Kansas at home for a three-game losing streak. They won four straight games against teams in the bottom half of the Big 12, then lost road games at Houston (68-59) on Feb. 22 and Oklahoma State (74-68) on Tuesday.

Iowa State's loss at Oklahoma State was a low point, with the Cyclones committing 18 turnovers that led to 22 Cowboy points. Iowa State also hit just 12 of 20 free throws.

But two starters missed the Houston game — point guard Keshon Gilbert (muscle strain) and wing Curtis Jones (walking pneumonia) — while Gilbert also did not play at Oklahoma State. Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said Gilbert returned to practice Thursday and was “optimistic” Gilbert would play against Arizona.

Iowa State, which is 18-1 when its top players are available and 3-6 when at least one is missing, returned forward Milan Momcilovic on Feb. 8 against TCU after he missed seven straight games, including the Jan. 27 game at McKale, because of a displaced bone in his left (non-shooting) hand. His return put leading scorer Curtis Jones back on the bench.

The Cyclones have the 23rd-most efficient offense in college basketball, but they turn the ball over on 16.7% of their possessions, with 10.1% ending in a steal. But they often get it back on defense, ranking 20th in defensive turnover percentage (21.7). Overall, Iowa State ranks 11th in defensive efficiency, allowing just 93.5 points per 100 opponent possessions, with a particular focus on keeping teams out of the paint as much as possible.

He said it: “(Momcilovic’s return) gives them more of the lineup balance that they've been missing. We have a good sense of what they wanted to do when those guys were out, but now they're going to have their full arsenal.

“It (also) bumps Curtis Jones to the bench. It makes him a super sixth-man, an amazing sub. It makes them deeper, and he's a really good shooter. He spaces the floor for them; he presents a lot of matchup problems.

“(If Gilbert returns) he's a veteran guard who plays point and is a great straight-line driver, downhill attacker. He made some big shots against us at McKale. He’s just one of the best guards in the country.

“We have to take care of the basketball, we have to rebound and we have to try and limit them in transition.” — UA associate head coach Jack Murphy, who scouted the Cyclones

Key players

Iowa State — Curtis Jones

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If there’s any one Cyclone player who wants this one the most, it’s probably Jones. The Cyclones’ leading scorer had just eight points while missing all eight 3-pointers he took against Arizona on Jan. 27. He also missed Iowa State’s Feb. 22 loss at Houston with an injury but returned Tuesday at Oklahoma State and is expected to be back in top form Saturday.

Arizona — Caleb Love

Love parlayed his heroics against Iowa State into 50% 3-point shooting in his next two games, though he was just 3 for 28 over four games after that. Now he’s coming off a 6-for-12 3-point shooting effort against Utah heading into what may be the most hostile environment he’s faced all season.

Sidelines

Pearl sought Arizona series

Although the Big 12 is cutting down from 20 to 18 games next season, the Wildcats’ overall strength of schedule may not suffer.

That’s because Auburn called. UA coach Tommy Lloyd said on his weekly radio show Thursday that Tigers coach Bruce Pearl reached out and a two-year series was arranged which will open next season when UA hosts Auburn on Dec. 6 at McKale Center.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Lloyd said.

Lloyd also confirmed that the Wildcats would not be participating in a traditional “multi-team event” (MTE) next season but instead would play a nonconference schedule similar to the one they did last season, when they faced Michigan State, Purdue, Alabama and Florida Atlantic all at neutral or semi-neutral sites.

The Wildcats are still confirmed to return to the Maui Invitational, Lloyd said, and they will be eligible for a return starting in the fall of 2026. But Lloyd again citied the difficulty of playing three games in three days as the Wildcats did earlier this season in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

“Those tournaments are getting hard,” Lloyd said. “It’s a lot of wear and tear on your teams. It happens so fast. And we felt the effects this year… Those games hit so hard and fast and sometimes you don’t have time to recalibrate your team.”

In Big 12 play, Lloyd said, the 18-game schedule should allow for teams to have two one-game weeks. The conference agreed to 20 games this season but crammed all of them after Christmas, making for a grind of 10 straight two-game weeks.

Krivas back to work

Seven weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a stress-related foot/ankle injury, UA center Motiejus Krivas has resumed some basketball activities. Krivas sat out most of the preseason, played in UA’s first eight games, but was shelved for the season in December.

Krivas was not available for comment during his rehabilitation, but he said on Lloyd’s radio show Thursday that he was able to return a week ahead of schedule because the healing has gone well.

“It feels much better,” Krivas said. “I’ve been looking forward to this moment. I can get back on the court and start working on stuff.”

Former camper honored

A veteran of Lloyd’s summer basketball camps, Billy Cronin was introduced during the UA-Utah game as the Diamond Children Medical Center's Prom King. UA introduced Cronin by saying he had lost part of his leg due to bone cancer but “hasn’t lost his passion for hoops” and plans to play at Canyon Del Oro, where he will be a freshman next year.

Lloyd said he didn’t know Cronin would be there but remembered him by name afterward.

“The more I get into Tucson, the more I'm learning about all the amazing programs and community, things here that support people who are going through tough times,” Lloyd said. “That's really special stuff, and that really touches my heart.

“So good for Billy, and that's awesome. He's probably a little bit too old to come to camp now, but I can't wait to see him and give him a big hug.”

Schedule tweaks

Times and coverage for Arizona’s final two regular-season games have been set: The Wildcats will host ASU on Tuesday at 9 p.m. while playing at Kansas on March 8 at 2:30 p.m. Both will air on ESPN.

UA’s original schedule had the ASU game on either ESPN or ESPN2, while the KU game was initially set to tipoff at 2 p.m.

Numbers game

5: Iowa State wins in 10 Quad 1 games

7: Arizona wins in 15 Quad 1 games

24: Straight weeks Iowa State has been ranked in the Associated Press Top 10, a streak that is in danger after the Cyclones lost to Oklahoma State on Tuesday.