Iowa State tasked with stopping huge Baylor front court

AMES — Steve Prohm wants production.

The second-year Iowa State coach got exactly that with a four-guard lineup that made the Cyclones look like they did the past few seasons offensively. Transition basketball and smart play on the perimeter surfaced at just the right time.

Seeing that lineup work in a win over Texas Tech doesn't mean this small-ball look is going to be the identity moving forward. There are a lot of other pieces to consider.

'I think it's game to game,' Prohm said. 'For us to be great, we need Deonte (Burton) to be terrific for us. We need Darrell Bowie. We need all those guys to play well.

'Some games are going to lend itself to where you can (play four guards), some games you may try it and you just can't and it's not going to be the best thing for you that night.'

Still, the Cyclones (9-3, 1-0) might have found something that works heading into Wednesday night's game at No. 3 Baylor (7 p.m. ESPNews),

All that is certain is Iowa State will have to find a way to offset the size and talent of the Bears' frontcourt.

Baylor (13-0) has KenPom's No. 7 adjusted offense and defense, but ranks 336th out of 351 in adjusted tempo. Iowa State hasn't broken any records for tempo either, but tempo might be just what it needs against Baylor. The four-guard lineup can do that.

'You've got Nick (Weiler-Babb) at the four, he can push the ball like you saw in that possession when he hit me,' said point guard Monte Morris. 'I threw it down and then he threw it back for 3. When we have four guards out there, any one of us can bring it up and push it and run. When we go four guards we definitely play faster.'

Even with the thought of playing faster, Iowa State still will have to find a way around Baylor's Johnathan Motley — something that has proved difficult in past years.

The 6-foot-10 junior is leading the Bears in scoring and had two career-best games against the Cyclones last year — he scored a career-high 27 points twice last season with 13 rebounds in Ames and 10 rebounds with four blocks in Waco.

Motley is averaging a team-high 16.3 points and 9.1 rebounds so defending him starts, Burton said, with solid footwork.

'He's a really good player,' Burton said. 'He exploits the mistakes that we make. Like last year I made a lot of mistakes playing against him and he exploited it every time I made the mistake.'

Iowa State has three forwards in its rotation — Bowie, Solomon Young and Merrill Holden — who stand 6-8. Baylor has four players, including Motley, who are 6-8 and taller, including 7-foot center Jo Lual-Acuil Jr., who is averaging 10.8 points and 7.5 rebounds with almost four blocks per game.

Success with a four-guard line, Prohm said, requires toughness and speed on both ends of the court. That has to be true especially defensively as the Cyclones prepare to face arguably their toughest opponent matchup-wise Wednesday.

'With teams like that, you've just got to out-tough them really,' Young said. 'You out-tough them, box out and just play hard really. If you play like that, you've just got to do whatever works.'

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