Iowa and Iowa State meet for the 63rd time this evening. The Cyclones are heavy favorites despite a three game losing skid that has seen their record fall to 6-3. They host an Iowa team that is just 3-6 on the season.
Iowa State coach Greg McDermott says he prepares for an opponent by looking at the times where they played the best. He says the Hawkeyes did that against Virginia Tech. He says the Hawkeyes will try to control tempo and will pick their spots to run and otherwise keep it in a quarter court game.
Cyclone forward Craig Brackins says they will need to adjust if they are unable to push the tempo. He says they need to get back to being good at executing the halfcourt offense.
Iowa coach Todd Lickliter will miss his third game after undergoing surgery last weekend. Assistant coach Chad Walthall has taken over and has head coaching experience. He was the head coach at Loras College. Walthall says once the ball goes up you just try to relax and coach.
Aaron Fuller returned from injury in a Tuesday night loss at UNI and if he can avoid foul trouble will give the Hawks a boost on the front line. The home team has won the last six games in the series which Iowa leads 42-20.