The Iowa State Cyclones take a 9-5 record into their Big-12 opener on the road, tomorrow, against Missouri. The Cyclones will need to contend with the Tiger’s pressure defense. I-S-U coach Greg McDermott says it is going to cause problems as they have an inexperienced guard court.
The Cyclones have already played a number of difficult road game already and McDermott hopes that experience pays off. McDermott says you play the games to get prepared for tough games in the conference. He says they won’t be intimidated by going into Missouri, but have a lot of respect for them.
McDermott says Mizzou’s interior game has shown a lot of improvement since the start of the season. McDermott says the guards create a lot and the big guys have taken advantage of that. Mike Anderson is in his first season at the helm of the Tigers and has cleaned up the train wreck left behind by former coach Quinn Snyder.
Missouri is 11-2 and average just over 80 points per game. Anderson likes the way his team is playing. He says they’re competing and competing for a longer period of time, the entire game. Anderson says the Tigers need to play a full court style to offset their lack of size. He says there’s no substitute for size, so they have to create some havoc with their defense.
Tipoff is five o’clock in Mizzou Arena.