Iowa State hosts Iowa Friday night in the second round of the NIT after advancing by beating Wichita State last night in front of a Hilton crowd of nearly 14-thousand. Cyclone coach Larry Eustachy says last night was “special” and it was “neat” to treat the fans to a victory. He says the next match-up with the Hawkeyes is a dream come true for the fans.Eustachy says the Hawkeyes will be determined on Friday, and the Cyclones are going to have to play a lot better than they did last night. The ‘Clones beat the Shockers 76 to 65.Eustachy says Wichita State out-rebounded Iowa State, and the Cyclone offense was too dependent on Jake Sullivan and Tim Barnes “launching bombs” according to the coach. He says the program’s not built on the three-pointer, but Eustachy says his team’s been through a tough, long season. Eustachy says, though, hopes his team can pull it out one more night against the Hawkeyes. During his appearance on the Cyclone Radio Network post-game show, Eustachy said he was “taken aback” by a reporter’s question after the game, asking him what he thought about the war. Eustachy says his first response was that he wasn’t an actor, but a basketball coach. But Eustachy says what he should have said during his post-game news conference was that he supports his country “150 percent” and his prayers are will the troops. Iowa State, by the way, beat the Hawks in Iowa City in their regular season match-up. Tickets for Friday’s game in Hilton are 20-bucks for adults and 10-dollars for I-S-U students and children.
