Iowa St.-Mississippi Preview

When the Big 12/SEC Challenge schedule was drawn up this summer, very little thought was given to Saturday morning's matchup with Iowa State playing at Mississippi.

Amazing how a few months can change the narrative.

Now it's a contest of ranked teams -- the Cyclones are 24th and the Rebels are 20th -- that will serve as the day's first game on ESPN. It will also serve as a bounce-back for one team and a potential worry for another.

Both teams are coming off losses in conference road games.

Iowa State (14-5) rallied late but came up short in an 80-76 loss to No. 9 Kansas on Monday night, while Ole Miss (14-4) was never in contention for most of its 74-53 setback against Alabama on Tuesday night.

Cyclones coach Steve Prohm felt like it was a missed opportunity at Kansas. Iowa State led most of the first half and owned a 47-39 advantage early in the second half but gave up a 14-0 run that left it trailing 61-53.

While the Cyclones fought back to tie, they couldn't regain control as the Jayhawks got a pair of late 3-pointers from Lagerald Vick and Dedric Lawson.

"A frustrating and disappointing loss," Prohm said in the Ames Tribune. "A game we felt good about coming in here. We didn't get it done."

Iowa State's best player this year, senior guard Marial Shayok, couldn't be blamed for the loss. The Virginia transfer torched Kansas for 26 points and is averaging 19.8 points per game, threatening to join the rare 50-40-90 club. Shayok is hitting 50.9 percent from the field, 40.0 percent on 3-pointers and 86.1 percent at the foul line.

The 6-foot-6 Shayok has been a revelation after playing three years in coach Tony Bennett's controlled system at UVa, where he never averaged more than 8.9 points per game.

He'll be the Rebels' problem on Saturday, when they'll look to wash the bad taste of their worst loss of the season out of their mouths. Ole Miss trailed 42-26 at the half at Alabama, then second-leading scorer Terence Davis fouled out with 16:09 left to scuttle any long-shot hopes of a rally.

The Rebels have been one of the country's most efficient teams on offense, but none of that efficiency was on display in Tuscaloosa. They hit only 40 percent from the field, 6 of 20 from the 3-point line and 7 of 14 free throws. They also committed 16 turnovers that the Crimson Tide cashed in for 23 points.

That performance aside, Ole Miss is still smashing expectations out of the ballpark. This was a team picked to finish 14th in the SEC in October but has instead become one of the nation's best stories under first-year coach Kermit Davis.

Davis has found himself searching for ways to help the offense maintain its high level of efficiency with a lesser version of Devontae Shuler at the point. Shuler is playing with a stress reaction in his foot and was only able to work 17 minutes at Alabama.

"He is just working like heck in rehab," Davis said.--Field Level Media