With games starting in just a few weeks, we’re tipping off our 2018-19 Big 12 coverage by going around the league team-by-team. Be sure to check in throughout the season and follow Big 12 correspondent Brian Goodman on Twitter @BSGoodman.

Iowa State

Lindell Wigginton is a big-time bucket-getter, but will the Cyclones have enough on defense? (Mark D. Smith/USA Today Sports)

The Cyclones predictably regressed last season after losing perhaps the best point guard in program history in Monte’ Morris, plus Deonte Burton, but what wasn’t predictable was just how bleak the season would go. Iowa State finished 13-18 overall (4-15 Big 12), marking its first losing season since 2009-10. Steve Prohm’s team didn’t win a single true road game in 10 attempts on its way to finishing dead last in the Big 12 on defense and ninth on offense. On the plus side, the Cyclones managed wins against Texas Tech and West Virginia, showing glimpses of how good they could be on occasion, but that didn’t happen nearly enough to make the season a success. The good news is that there’s nowhere to go but up with many of their most talented pieces returning.

Who’s Gone:

• G Donovan Jackson: 15.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.1 APG, 40.1% 3FG, 87.5% FT
• F Hans Brase: 2.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG
• F Jeff Beverly: 4.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG

Who’s Back:

• G Lindell Wigginton: 16.7 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 2.8 APG, 40.1% 3FG
• G Nick Weiler-Babb: 11.3 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 6.8 APG, 1.3 SPG
• F Cameron Lard: 12.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG, 2.2 BPG
• F Solomon Young: 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG
• F Zoran Talley: 7.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG

Who’s Coming In:

• G Marial Shayok (transfer from Virginia): 8.9 PPG in 2016-17
• F Michael Jacobson (transfer from Nebraska): 6.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG in 2016-17
• F Talen Horton-Tucker (four-star recruit)
• F Zion Griffin (four-star recruit)

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Rush the Court will be providing wall-to-wall coverage of each of the NCAA Tournament from each of the 13 sites this year. Follow our NCAA Tourney specific Twitter accounts at @RTCEastregion, @RTCMWregion,@RTCSouthregion and @RTCWestregion.

Three Key Takeaways:

Yale’s Justin Sears slams one home during the first half against Baylor. (Credit: AP/ Charles Krupa)

1. Yale is very fun… and very good. Yale is an entertaining group of basketball players as well as people. Justin Sears is quick-witted at the dais and Brandon Sherrod skipped a year of basketball to sing in an a cappella group, but this team is also very capable of making a run to the second weekend. The Bulldogs are ranked 41st on KenPom, play relentless defense (21st nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency), and rebound the heck out of the ball (third nationally in offensive rebound rate; eighth in defensive rebound rate). Although the Bulldogs lost to Duke back in November, the Blue Devils are vulnerable on the offensive glass, so don’t be surprised to see Yale pull off an upset away from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
2. Makai Mason is a name to learn. The Yale sophomore led all scorers on Thursday with 31 points in the Bulldogs’ win after shooting 9-of-18 from the field. Mason, along with Sears, led Yale in scoring this year at 15.8 points per game and although he didn’t shoot it well from outside today (2-of-8), he converted 38.4 percent of his threes this season. Mason has proven that he can compete against high-major opponents despite not being recruited in part because he quit playing AAU basketball in high school. For academic reasons, of course. He told the media on Wednesday not to be surprised by how athletic the Bulldogs are, and he was right.
3. The Big 12’s NCAA Tournament woes continue. After making two Elite Eights in 2010 and 2012 and a Sweet Sixteen in 2014, the Bears have suffered early exits from the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. It was Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter last year who knocked the Bears out with a late three-pointer, and despite all of the motivation from that first round exit, they’re going home early again. Baylor has put together a number of impressive Big 12 seasons recently, but that success hasn’t translated into the NCAA Tournament.

Star of the Game: Makai Mason. His 31 points fueled the upset and dazzled the crowd plenty of times during the first half with his impressive handle. “I felt in the zone,” he said. Did he ever!

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