Iowa State Battles Norfolk State On Sunday

Iowa State (3-0) vs. Norfolk State (0-2)

Nov. 19, 2006 ? 1 p.m. ? Hilton Coliseum (14,092)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network; John Walters (pxp) and Eric Heft (color)

Television: Mediacom; B.J. Schaben (pxp) and Jim Hallihan (color)

Gameday Quick Facts

Iowa State (3-0) plays host to Norfolk State (0-2) on Sunday in Hilton Coliseum...it will be ISU's last home game until venturing out on the road for the first time at Minnesota (Nov. 29)...ISU has raced out to a 3-0 record after capturing the title at the American Family Insurance Cyclone Challenge last weekend...ISU defeated UC Riverside (69-61), Louisiana-Monroe (68-40) and Eastern Illinois (56-54) en route to its 10th Cyclone Challenge championship in school history...the Cyclones have never faced Norfolk State and is 11-1 all-time against MEAC opponents...ISU's only loss vs. a MEAC team was against Hampton...ISU fell to Hampton, 58-57 in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament in Boise, Idaho.

Cyclone Update

Iowa State was successful in head coach Greg McDermott's debut last weekend, winning three games to capture the 2006 American Family Insurance Cyclone Challenge...the wins gave McDermott his first victory in Hilton Coliseum ever...he was 0-2 as a player and 0-3 as a coach at Northern Iowa...in the first win over UC Riverside, McDermott became the 15th head coach in ISU history to win in their debut...the Cyclones forced 23 turnovers and Mike Taylor scored 22 points in his first game in an Iowa State uniform...he missed the first two exhibitions while serving a team suspension...true freshman Wesley Johnson started in his first game as a Cyclone, scoring 10 points...it marked the fifth consecutive season where a true freshman started the season opener for the Cyclones...ISU played its best game to date in the second round against Louisiana-Monroe, downing the Warhawks 68-40 via a stingy defensive effort...ISU held ULM to 27.3 percent from the field, the first time an ISU opponent has shot under 30 percent from the floor since Arkansas-Pine Bluff shot 24.2 percent vs. ISU on Dec. 31, 2002...ISU held ULM scoreless for an 11-minute stretch during the game...Wesley Johnson notched his first career double-double in his second game as a Cyclone with 11 points and 12 boards...ISU outrebounded ULM (48-27) and was 15-of-16 from the charity stripe...ISU had a scare against Eastern Illinois, surviving a pair of EIU winning shots late in the game to win 56-54...Mike Taylor led ISU in scoring for the third consecutive game, tallying 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 2-of-2 effort from distance...Rahshon Clark grabbed 12 rebounds for his fourth double-digit rebounding performance of his career...ISU had only five fouls in the game, which is believed to be an ISU record...Taylor was named MVP of the tournament, averaging 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds in the three games...Wesley Johnson was also named to the all-tournament team.

Norfolk State (0-2)

Norfolk State, located in Norfolk, Va., fell to 0-2 after a 65-54 loss to Longwood Wednesday night...NSU led 31-26 at the half, but were outscored 39-23 in the second period...Tony Murphy had 12 points and Calvin Brown tallied 11 points and eight boards to pace the Spartans...the Spartans lost in their opener to Oklahoma, 99-36 in Norman...NSU struggled from the field vs. OU, hitting only 24.6 percent, including a 18.2 percent clip (6-33 FG) in the second half...Brown, a 6-9, 255 senior, led NSU with a double-double, tallying 10 points and 10 caroms...the Spartans were just 3-of-17 from 3-point range (17.6 percent) against the Sooners...the Spartans return four players from last season and were picked to finish second in the preseason MEAC poll...Murphy, a 6-4, junior guard from Paterson, N.J., is NSU's top player...Murphy averaged 15.5 ppg and was named second-team all-MEAC a year ago...a first-team preseason all-MEAC selection, Murphy is averaging 10.5 ppg...Brown is a solid post player who averaged 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds last season...Brown is averaging 10.5 points and 9.0 rebounds this year...Tynell Dunkley, a 6-6, 225 senior, is another veteran for the Spartans...Dunkley is averaging 2.5 points and 2.5 rebounds...the Spartans have struggled offensively in their first two games, shooting 31.3 percent from the field, 15.2 percent from 3-point range and 46.4 percent from the foul line...Dwight Freeman is in his fifth season as head coach of Norfolk State, registering a 52-66 overall mark...Freeman was an assistant coach at Miami from 1995-2002...he helped lead the Hurricanes to the Sweet Sixteen in 2000 and was the primary recruiter for former Hurricane Darius Rice, who played in the 1999 McDonald's All-Star game in Ames...Freeman began his coaching career at Moberly Junior College in Missouri in 1983...he recruited and coached Olympian Mitch Richmond at Moberly, who would later star at Kansas State and become a perennial NBA All-Star.

Iowa State Team Quick Facts

? Iowa State has just four returning scholarship players from last season.

? 67.3 percent of the minutes played in ISU's three games were by newcomers on the roster.

? 70.0 percent of ISU's points this season are from players who did not play a minute last year.

? ISU head coach Greg McDermott is the first native Iowan to coach the Cyclone men's basketball team since Clayton Sutherland (1948-54)...McDermott is from Cascade; Sutherland was from Nashua.

? Greg McDermott was 0-5 as a player and head coach at UNI in games played in Hilton Coliseum.

? McDermott entered the season with the 41st-best winning percentage among active Division I coaches.

? Head coach Greg McDermott will play all three of his former schools where he was a head coach in his first season with the Cyclones (Wayne State, 1995-00, Nov. 6; North Dakota St., 2001, Dec. 31; UNI, 2002-06, Nov. 29).

? Junior Jiri Hubalek will miss the first six games of the season due to a NCAA rules violation...his first game where he is eligible to play will be McDermott's homecoming to Northern Iowa (Nov. 29).

? Wesley Johnson broke Will Blalock's school-record for standing vertical leap at 34 inches...Blalock's record was at 33 1/2 inches...Johnson also had a 41-inch step vertical leap to break the school record.

? ISU head coach Greg McDermott is in his first season with the Cyclones, but he is already the seventh-longest tenured coach in the league...of the six new coaches in the league (Mike Anderson, Missouri; Bob Huggins, Kansas State; Doc Sadler, Nebraska; Jeff Capel, Oklahoma; Sean Sutton, Oklahoma State; Greg McDermott, Iowa State), McDermott was the first to be hired.

? ESPN.com picked Hilton Coliseum as the "Hot Arena" in the Big 12...coaches in the league noted that, "regardless of talent, the Cyclones have a home court like no other."

? ISU junior college transfers Corey McIntosh and Mike Taylor have witnessed a ton of success in their collegiate playing career...McIntosh tallied a 59-9 record in his two seasons in JC ball, while Taylor recorded a 62-8 mark in his two seasons at Chipola JC...the pair posted a combined 121-17 record in their two years in junior college.

? ISU held Louisiana-Monroe to 27.3 percent from the field, the first time a Cyclone opponent was held under 30 percent shooting since Dec. 31, 2002 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff)...ISU held ULM to 17 first-half points, the first time a Cyclone opponent was held under 20 points in a half since Dec. 31, 2002 (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).

? The Cyclones are allowing just 23.0 points in the first half.

? The Cyclones committed only five fouls against Eastern Illinois, which is believed to be a school record.

? ISU has outshot all three opponents from the field this season.

? ISU is 21-of-24 from the charity stripe (87.5 percent) in its last two games.

? Iowa State's Nov. 10 first game against UC Riverside is the earliest start to a season in school history, eclipsing the old mark by five days set in the 1999-2000 season (Nov. 15, Simon Fraser).

Stressing Defense

Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott has always stressed defense in order to be successful...his teams have already bought into this concept in the early season...ISU's opponents are shooting 34.6 percent from the field with only one team achieving above 40 percent in a game (Eastern Illinois, 41.4 percent)...ISU allowed 46.5 percent from the field last season.

Getting To The Line

In the preseason, Greg McDermott talked about the importance of getting to the free-throw line to increase your chances to win...so far, so good for ISU, as the Cyclones have been able to capitalize at the free-throw line...ISU has attempted more free-throw attempts than its opponent in all three games this season, holding a 60-25 (+11.6) advantage at the charity stripe...what a difference from last season when the Cyclones were outshot at the foul line, 735-548 (-6.2)...ISU has been efficient once it has gotten to the line as well, making 78.3 percent of its shots (47-60).

Clark Is The Leader

Junior Rahshon Clark is the undisputed leader of the Cyclone team...now in his third-year as a starter, Clark is ISU's most experienced and most seasoned player...he brings to the table incredible athleticsm and jumping ability...the junior has drastically improved his rebounding, leading the team on the boards at 9.7 rpg...his long arms and quick jumping ability allows him to outrebound bigger and stronger opponents...Clark has tallied eight or more rebounds in all three games this season, including 12 vs. Eastern Illinois, his fourth double-digit rebounding effort of his career.

Taylor Made

ISU fans finally got a chance to see all the hype about Mike Taylor last weekend at the Cyclone Challenge...Taylor, who was named MVP of the Tournament, led ISU in scoring in all three games, averaging 17.0 ppg...Taylor's debut was impressive, pouring in 22 points against UC Riverside...Taylor has a high-energy style of play and possesses outstanding leaping ability...he can stretch the defense with his range and explode to the hoop with his quickness...in ISU's win over Eastern Illinois, he had 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including a 2-of-2 effort from 3-point range...he leads the team in 3-point percentage (41.7 percent), connecting on 5-of-12 shots from downtown.

Johnson & Johnson

True freshmen Wesley Johnson and Cory Johnson have done a fantastic job early in their rookie seasons at ISU...the pair have helped out ISU's frontcourt despite their lack of experience...Wesley has started all three games, averaging 9.7 ppg and 8.7 rpg...Wesley posted a double-double in just his second game as a Cyclone with 11 points and 12 rebounds vs. ULM...he also leads ISU in blocks with four...despite his lack of size, Wesley's incredible leaping ability allows him to be an effective offensive rebounder...along with junior Rahshon Clark, the pair are averaging 3.0 offensive boards a game...Cory has been ISU's top reserve frontcourt player this season, averaging 7.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg in just 15.7 minutes per game...the hustling Johnson came off the bench to aid ISU's victory over Eastern Illinois, tallying five points and two steals in the second half...Cory is shooting 66.7 percent from the field (6-9 FG) and is perfect from the foul line (9-9 FT).

Players Mentioned

Will Blalock

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Cory Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Corey McIntosh

Mike Taylor

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