Dominykas Pleta's offensive rebounding off the bench will be key for No. 6 Iowa State at No. 23 BYU

Dominykas Pleta always cleans his plate.

The 6-11, 240-pound freshman forward from Gotha, Germany has packed 15 pounds onto his expansive frame since joining Iowa State’s program last summer — and it’s anything but dead weight.

“I lost fat, I gained muscle,” said Pleta, who hopes to keep giving the No. 6 Cyclones (23-3, 10-3 Big 12) a major boost off the bench in Saturday’s 9:30 p.m. matchup with No. 23 BYU (19-7, 7-6) in Provo, Utah. “I just feel the best I’ve ever felt.”

So does ISU in general, which has matched the 2001-02 team for the best 26-game start to the season in program history. The Cyclones are coming off back-to-back top-10 home wins over No. 9 Kansas and third-ranked Houston, but will face a desperate Cougars team trying to regroup after losing star senior guard Richie Saunders for the season because of a torn ACL.

“Obviously, they’re a prolific offensive team.”

Even with the multi-talented Saunders out. That’s because BYU still features more than one elite scorer, with 6-9 freshman sensation AJ Dybantsa standing front and center in that high-scoring equation.

“There’s not a good answer for how to guard him,” Otzelberger said of Dybantsa, who scored 35 points in the Cougars 75-68 loss at No. 2 Arizona on Wednesday. “It’s not a one-man job. His free throw rate, the numbers are off the chart. His ability to create his own shot and score the basketball is at such a high level, and then you’ve got Rob Wright, who’s one of the best scoring guards in the country.”

BYU forward Keba Keta’s also one of the best rebounders in the league, and 2.6 of his team-best 7.2 boards per game comes in the offensive end of the floor. That’s where Pleta and starting forwards Blake Buchanan and Joshua Jefferson — as well as point guard Tamin Lipsey — come in. The Cougars rank fifth in the Big 12 in offensive rebounds per game (12.2) and the Cyclones are close behind in a tie for sixth at 12.0. Pleta’s unique in that most of his rebounds in 10.7 minutes per game have come on offense — and that’s a trend that clearly must continue late Saturday and beyond.

“As Dom has played better, that’s allowed us to make more intentional decisions with Blake,” Otzelberger said. “Also, the physicality in the Big 12, there (are) gonna be fouls and there (are) gonna be situations. So I've just always believed, especially at that position, to be at your best, you have to have two really good guys — two really good players.”

Buchanan leads ISU in offensive rebounds with 72 and Pleta’s tied for fourth in the team with 31. But each Cyclone teammate tied or higher than him on that chart averages more than double his minutes. So that added muscle is paying off — as is his newfound love of physical play and clean plates.

“We just had practice and I got a little cut,” Pleta said with a smile. “It happens. We practice hard every day so we’re used to it in the games. Getting hit is a part of it.”

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