Iowa State and Drake meet on the basketball court for the 170th time in Ames Wednesday night. The Cyclones are 2-0 under new coach Fred Hoiberg after wins over Northern Arizona and Alabama State. Hoiberg says they came out in both games with tremendous energy and dictated the tempo. He says they have preached all along to play unselfishly and they have done a great job of that.
As a player at Iowa State Hoiberg was 11-1 against in-state foes. This will be his first game in the series as a coach. He says they will treat it like another game and he says hopefully they bring the same energy and passion as they have the other two games. Hoiberg says Drake center Seth Van Deest offers a new challenge for the Cyclones.
The sophomore from Bettendorf scored 12 points in Drake’s season opening win over Texas Southern. He says they haven’t seen a low post scorer yet, and he says Drake has a “couple horses down on the block” they will have a hard time defending.
Drake coach Mark Phelps says the hiring of Hoiberg has energized the Iowa State program. He says Hoiberg is an Iowa kid who is an Iowa hero and on top of that a tremendous guy. Phelps says Drake’s chances in this game begin on defense and you have to defend on the road and not depend on making a lot of shots. He says the way Iowa State gets up and down the court, you have to be good in transition defense.
Phelps says the Bulldogs need to limit Iowa State’s fast break opportunities as he says they play hard and look like they are having fun and playing with a lot of confidence. Drake has won the last two games in Hilton Coliseum. The Bulldogs have not won three straight in Ames since the late 1930s.