Fred Hoiberg
A big week begins tonight for the 11th ranked Iowa State Cyclones when they visit 22nd rated Baylor in Big 12 action. The Cyclones are 2-0 in the league race after winning at West Virginia and must now find a way to solve Baylor’s zone defense. “We played them 3 times last year and that zone, we really struggled against it, especially on 2 occasions,” ISU coach Fred
Hoiberg who says the Cyclones need to find a way to get quality shots. “Hopefully we go down there with a good game plan and execute it, but I know Scott has those guys playing at a high level right now. I’ve been very impressed with what they’ve done after losing a few key pieces, and they are every bit as good as they were a year ago,” Hoiberg says.
Hoiberg hopes experience will help against the zone as he says it’s hard to simulate in practice. After starting Big 12 play with two losses Baylor bounced back with an overtime win at TCU.
Baylor coach Scott Drew says the road win was huge as they didn’t want to start out 0-3 in the conference. He says the Iowa State team offers a different challenge with their length and size, which he says adds shot-blocking ability.
Iowa State will return home on Saturday night to host ninth ranked Kansas.