Cyclones Travel To Northern Iowa

Iowa State (6-0) at Northern Iowa (4-1)

Nov. 29, 2006 ? 7 p.m. ? UNI-Dome (10,000) ? CRN/Fox 28/17

Radio: John Walters (pxp) and Eric Heft (color)

Television: Fox 28/Fox 17 KDSM, Rob Brooks (pxp) and Mac McCausland (color)

Gameday Quick Facts

Iowa State (6-0) travels to Northern Iowa (4-1) in ISU head coach Greg McDermott's homecoming to Cedar Falls...it will be ISU's first of three consecutive games against its instate rivals...McDermott, who played for the Panthers from 1984-88, resurrected the UNI program in his five years as head coach (2001-06), leading them to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances...McDermott is just the second coach in school history to win his first six games, trying to tie Wayne Morgan's first-year coaching start of 7-0...the Cyclones are one of nine teams in school history to win their first six games...Cyclone junior center Jiri Hubalek will be eligible to play in his first game on Wednesday after serving a six-game NCAA suspension...ISU has won 10 consecutive games vs. non-conference schools dating back to last season.

Cyclone-Panther Quick Facts

ISU leads the all-time series against UNI at 34-7...ISU also leads in games played in Cedar Falls at 10-4...ISU has won 6-of-the-last-7 meetings in the series...its last loss was a 99-82 defeat two years ago in the UNI-Dome...the Cyclones downed the Panthers, 68-61 in Hilton Coliseum last year, helping ISU claim the mythical state title...ISU has won the mythical state title (wins over Drake, UNI and Iowa) three of the last four seasons (2002-03, 2003-04 and 2005-06)...obviously, the connections between these two teams are plentiful...for starters, Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott is a 1988 graduate of Northern Iowa where he was a 1,033-point scorer for the Panthers from 1984-88...McDermott later become head coach at his alma mater in 2001, compiling a five-year 90-63 mark from 2002-06...McDermott took over a program that had won seven games the season before and made them perennial Missouri Valley Conference contenders...his final teams at UNI (2004, 2005, 2006) all qualified for the NCAA Tournament...McDermott brought two of his former assistants at UNI with him to Iowa State...Ron Smith, who is ISU's director of basketball operations, was an assistant at UNI in all five of McDermott's years as head coach...Smith was actually at UNI from 1998-2006, serving on former head coach Sam Weaver's staff for three seasons...he was retained by McDermott when he took over in 2001...ISU assistant coach Jeff Rutter was on staff with McDermott at UNI in his last three years (2003-06)...ISU graduate manager Erik Crawford is a 2006 UNI graduate...Crawford was a three-year starter for UNI, scoring 985 career points and leading the Panthers to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances...UNI head coach Ben Jacobson's ties with McDermott date back to the late 1980s...Jacobson was a star player for North Dakota from 1989-93 when McDermott was an assistant coach at NDU from 1989-94...when McDermott took over the head coaching duties at North Dakota State in 2000, he brought Jacobson in as his top assistant...the pair spent one season at NDSU and then moved to UNI together when McDermott was named head coach in 2001...he succeeded McDermott in 2006 when he took the ISU job...UNI assistant coach Rich Glas is in his first season with the Panthers after directing the North Dakota program from 1988-2006...Glas gave McDermott his first assistant coaching job in 1989 at North Dakota...the pair coached five seasons together at North Dakota, compiling a 126-37 record and earning five NCAA Division II Tournament berths...UNI assistant coach Kyle Green is in his second stint as an assistant with the Panthers...Green was an assistant for McDermott at UNI in his first two seasons with the Panthers (2001-03)...UNI assistant coach P.J. Hogan is in his fourth season on the Panther staff...he was a graduate manager at UNI for McDermott from 2003-05 and was promoted to assistant coach with the Panthers in McDermott's final season (2005-06) at the helm...he also was McDermott's assistant in his only season at North Dakota State (2000-01)...UNI's director of basketball operations Chris Foster is a 2005 Northern Iowa graduate...he played for McDermott from 2002-05, amassing 1,027 career points...he served as a graduate manager last year in McDermott's final season at UNI.

Cyclone Update

Iowa State remains unbeaten (6-0) after a 90-61 win over Lake Superior State Saturday night...the win gives ISU a 6-0 start on the season, marking just the ninth time in school history where ISU has won its first six games out of the gate...the Cyclones once again rode the hot hand of junior Mike Taylor, who scored 22 points and dished out a career-high seven assists, all in the first half...Taylor, who played just five minutes in the second half because of the rout, made his first six 3-point attempts against LSSU, giving him a streak of nine consecutive 3-point makes dating back to his last game at Minnesota, where he scored 25 of his career-high 33 points in the second half...in back-to-back halves (second half vs. Minnesota; first half vs. Lake Superior State), Taylor scored 47 points (23.5 points per half), shot 16-of-25 from the field (64.0 percent) and made 12-of-16 from 3-point range (75.0 percent)...ISU shot a season-high 53.3 percent from the field against the Lakers, led by Jessan Gray, who made his first six shots from the field en route to a career-high 14 points...Gray, who was 2-for-2 from beyond the arc, was key in ISU's 14-2 run to close the first half to put the game out of reach...ISU recorded a season-high 11 3-pointers, the 15th time in school history where ISU made 11 or more 3-pointers in a game...the Cyclones have made 20 treys in their last two games...ISU dished out a season-high 19 assists and committed 11 turnovers, marking the second game in a row where ISU had a positive assist/turnover ratio.

Northern Iowa (4-1)

Northern Iowa is off to another fast start under first-year head coach Ben Jacobson...the Panthers are 4-1 with their only loss coming at nationally-ranked Washington (70-61)...UNI is fresh off a 69-56 win over South Dakota State on Friday...UNI's all-star frontcourt continues to dominate, as Eric Coleman posted 16 points and seven boards and Grant Stout tallied 11 points and eight caroms against the Jackrabbits...Coleman, a 6-6, 240-pound junior, and Stout, a 6-8, 240 pound senior, form one of the best frontcourts in the Missouri Valley Conference...Coleman leads UNI in scoring (14.4 ppg) and has a team-high 59.6 percentage (28-47 FG) from the floor...Coleman, who averages 8.0 rpg, had 24 points and 10 rebounds against ISU the last time the two teams met in Cedar Falls (2004)...Stout, who was a first-team all-MVC selection last year, is averaging 10.8 points and 8.0 rpg...Stout has 896 career points and is UNI's all-time leading shot blocker with 180 blocks...he is currently averaging 1.6 bpg...four-year starting guard Brooks McKowen is averaging 7.6 points and leads the squad in assists at 7.4 apg.

Iowa State Team Quick Facts

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

? 64.3 percent of the minutes played (772) in ISU's six games were by newcomers on the roster.

? 69.1 percent of ISU's points this season (282) are from players who did not play a minute last year.

? ISU's 6-0 start ties for the fifth-best start in school history...only nine teams in school history have won its first six games.

? ISU head coach Greg McDermott is one of two coaches to win his first six games at the helm...he is one shy of the school mark for best start for a first-year coach (Wayne Morgan- 7-0 in 2003-04).

? 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.

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

? 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 has made 20 treys in its last two games, going 20-of-46 from downtown (43.4 percent).

? ISU hit a season-high 11 treys vs. Lake Superior State, tying for the 15th-best single-game total in ISU history.

? ISU has had more assists than turnovers in its last two games (34 ast./22 to).

? ISU is shooting 44.0 percent from the field this year, but is 49.2 percent (58-118) in its last two games.

? ISU has made a 3-pointer in 38 consecutive games.

? ISU has won 10 consecutive games vs. non-conference opponents.

? ISU has outshot five of its six opponents from the field this season.

? ISU has shot more free-throws than its opponents in five of six games this year.

? Only one team (Eastern Illinois) has shot above 40 percent against the Cyclones this season.

? ISU is holding its opponents to 36.7 percent from the field.

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 36.7 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 five of six games this season, holding a 119-72 (+7.8) advantage at the charity stripe...what a difference from last season when the Cyclones were outshot at the foul line, 735-548 (-6.2)...the only team to shoot more free throws than ISU this season is Minnesota.

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 8.7 rpg...his long arms and quick jumping ability allows him to outrebound bigger and stronger opponents...Clark has tallied eight or more rebounds in five of six games this season, including 12 vs. Eastern Illinois and 11 vs. Minnesota...he recorded his third double-double of his career against Minnesota with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Taylor Made

Mike Taylor's high-energy style of play and outstanding shooting has excited ISU fans so far in the young season...he can stretch the defense with his range and explode to the hoop with his quickness...he tallied one of the greatest second halves in ISU history vs. Minnesota, recording 25 of his career-high 33 points after intermission...he tallied a career-high six 3-pointers, all in the second half vs. the Gophers...he followed that game with 22 points in the first half vs. Lake Superior State, drilling his first six treys...dating back to the Minnesota game, he had a streak of nine consecutive 3-pointers made...he leads the team in scoring (19.0), 3-pointers (17), steals (9) and assists (26).

Taylor's Incredible Run

Mike Taylor posted arguably the greatest back-to-back half performances in school history against Minnesota and Lake Superior State...in the second half vs. Minnesota, Taylor had 25 points and six treys...he answered that performance in his next game, tallying 22 points and six treys in the first half vs. Lake Superior State...at one point, Taylor had a string of nine consecutive 3-pointers made.

Taylor Ties Single-Game Scoring Mark For First-Year Cyclones

Mike Taylor had a career night vs. Minnesota, pouring in 33 points to help ISU down the Gophers...Taylor's 33 points vs. Minnesota ties the school record for most points scored in a game by a Cyclone in their first season on the team.

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 six games, averaging 10.5 ppg and 7.0 rpg...Wesley leads the team with two double-doubles this season...he also leads ISU in blocks with eight, recording a career-high three vs. Norfolk State...despite his lack of size, Wesley's incredible leaping ability allows him to be an effective offensive rebounder...19 of his 42 rebounds have come on the offensive end, averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds per game...Cory has been ISU's top reserve frontcourt player this season, averaging 7.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg in just 14.3 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 leads the team in field goal percentage at 60.0 percent (12-20 FG).

Good Start For McDermott

Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott is off to a good start in his Cyclone coaching career, winning his first six games at the helm...he is one of two coaches in school history to win his first six games.

Iowa State Mounts Fantastic Start

With its 6-0 start to begin the season, Iowa State ties for the fifth-best start in school history without a loss...only nine teams in ISU history have won its first six games out of the gates:

Iowa State Begins Mythical Title Search

Iowa State starts its quest for its fourth mythical state title in the last five seasons on Wednesday against Northern Iowa...it will be ISU's first of three consecutive games against its instate rivals...the Cyclones have won three of the last four mythical state titles.

Iowa State Mythical State Championship Seasons*

1983-84 at Drake (79-72 ot), Northern Iowa (91-75), Iowa (76-72 2ot)

1984-85 at Iowa (54-50), Drake (74-73), at Northern Iowa (69-61)

1987-88 at Northern Iowa (80-75), at Drake (83-77), Iowa (102-100 ot)

1991-92 Northern Iowa (84-66), Iowa (98-84), at Drake (92-61)

1993-94 Northern Iowa (79-66), at Drake (83-67), Iowa (86-79)

1994-95 Drake (94-69), at Iowa (76-63), at Northern Iowa (81-62)

2002-03 at Iowa (73-69), Drake (76-55), at Northern Iowa (71-64)

2003-04 Northern Iowa (79-76), at Drake (83-77), Iowa (84-76)

2005-06 Northern Iowa (68-61), at Drake (89-74), Iowa (72-60)

*must have played all three of the Division I schools in the same season

Players Mentioned

Will Blalock

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Jessan Gray

Jessan Gray

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Cory Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Corey McIntosh

Mike Taylor

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics