Houston is ISU's Final Non-Conference Road Test

AMES, Iowa--Iowa State (7-4) travels to Houston (7-1) on Sunday in its final non-conference road game of the season. This will be the first of three trips to the state of Texas for the Cyclones. ISU begins Big 12 Conference play at Texas (Jan. 10) and will play at Texas A&M on Feb. 28.

Iowa State (7-4) at Houston (7-1)
When: Sun., Dec. 28, 2008 - 5:00 p.m.
Where: Houston, Texas; Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479)
Live Stats: uhcougars.com
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network: John Walters (pxp) and Eric Heft (color)
Television: None

Complete Pre-Event Coverage
Notes	_	Live Stats

Cyclone Notebook
-Iowa State (7-4) travels to Houston (7-1) on Sunday in its final non-conference road game of the season...this will be the first of three trips to the state of Texas for the Cyclones...ISU begins Big 12 Conference play at Texas (Jan. 10) and will play at Texas A&M on Feb. 28.
-ISU will wrap up its non-conference portion of the season with three consecutive home games (Mercer, SIU-Edwardsville, Houston Baptist) after the Houston game.
-ISU will try and regroup after a 65-58 loss at home to South Dakota State on Tuesday...it was the first time the Cyclones lost to the Jackrabbits, falling to 5-1 lifetime vs. South Dakota Sate.
-The Cyclones never could quite get on track vs. SDSU, committing a season-high 16 turnovers and shooting 37.7 percent from the field, including a season-half-low 27.6 percent in the second period.
-Craig Brackins and Lucca Staiger have been two of ISU's most consistent performers in recent games...Brackins, who has scored in double figures in 10 of 11 games this year, ranks seventh in the Big 12 in scoring (17.1) and fifth in rebounding (7.6)...Staiger has made 19-of-37 shots (51.4 percent) from 3-point range in his last five games.

Last Time Out
-Iowa State never got on track in its last game, falling 65-58 to South Dakota State on Tuesday...ISU committed a season-high 16 turnovers and shot 37.7 percent from the floor, its second-lowest output of the season.
-ISU was up at the half, 32-30, but shot just 27.6 percent from the field in the second half.
-It was just the fourth time this season where the Cyclones shot worse than their opponent (42.6%-37.7%)...ISU is 0-4 in those games.
-ISU's 58 points scored was the second-lowest total of the season...the Cyclones have been held below 60 points three times this season (Hawaii, Iowa, South Dakota State).
-ISU, which ranked 18th nationally and second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (1.28), had more turnovers (16) than assists (13) for only the fourth time this season.
-ISU was led by Craig Brackins, who tallied 18 points and five rebounds...Brackins currently ranks seventh in the Big 12 in scoring (17.1) and fifth in rebounding (7.6)...Brackins is averaging 17.8 points and 10.5 rebounds in his last six games.
-Lucca Staiger recorded 12 points on 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range...Staiger made two late 3-pointers to keep ISU's chances alive vs. SDSU on Tuesday...Staiger ranks eighth in the Big 12 in 3-pointers made per game at 2.4.
-Staiger has dramatically increased is productivity in recent games...the sophomore is averaging 13.2 points and is shooting 19-of-37 (51.3 percent) from 3-point range in his last five games...he is shooting 44.1 percent from 3-point range to rank ninth in the league and it rates as the seventh-best percentage in ISU's season 3-point percentage charts (minimum 20 made).
-Diante Garrett totaled five points, seven boards and five assists in the loss...it marks this sixth time this season where Garrett handed out five or more dimes in a game.
-ISU currently ranks first in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (37.8 percent)...SDSU was just the second team this season to shoot above 40 percent from the field against Iowa State.
-Bryan Petersen scored eight points and recorded four assists for ISU...Petersen drilled 2-of-6 shots from downtown to give him 64 treys in his career...he now ranks 18th all-time in school history in career 3-pointers.

Cyclone-Cougar Quick Facts
-Iowa State and Houston will meet for the fifth time...UH owns a 3-1 all-time mark vs. the Cyclones, winning the last three meetings.
-ISU won the first meeting on Dec. 3, 1956 in Ames (92-73)...ISU All-American Gary Thompson set a school record by making 19 free-throws in the game.
-UH won the last meeting in Charlotte, N.C., 87-72 on Nov. 30, 1990...the two teams have only met once in Houston, a 83-82 win for the Cougars on Jan. 10, 1990.
-UH head coach Tom Penders, who is in his 35th season as a head coach, has a 1-1 record vs. Iowa State...he coached against the Cyclones twice when he was head coach at Texas from 1989-98...his Longhorns upset No. 7 ISU in 1997, 57-56 in Austin...ISU returned the favor the next season in Penders' final year at UT, 85-82 in Ames.
-ISU is 12-9 all-time vs. Conference USA teams.
-UH assistant coach Kevin Lewis was an assistant coach at Baylor from 1999-2001, facing the Cyclones four times.
-Former Cyclone Sam Mack, who played one season at ISU (1988-89), ended his collegiate career at Houston...he later went onto a successful career in the NBA.
-ISU and Houston have one common opponent this season in Mississippi Valley State...UH downed the Delta Devils, 92-58 and the Cyclones won their game vs. MVSU, 77-59.

A Closer Look At Houston (7-1)
-Houston is off to a great start with a 7-1 mark...the only Cougar blemish was a 65-63 loss to Georgia Southern in the season opener.
-UH won at Toledo in its last game, 71-63...junior guard Kelvin Lewis tallied 21 points and junior Aubrey Coleman posted a double-double with 15 points and 13 boards.
-Lewis ranks 61st nationally in scoring at 19.1 ppg and is a serious threat from downtown...Lewis is averaging 4.1 3-pointers per game to rank fourth nationally, connecting on 33-of-74 from 3-point range (44.6 percent)...he has four 20+ games this season.
-Lewis' backcourt mate Aubrey Coleman is averaging 16.4 points and ranks fourth nationally in steals per game at 3.4 spg.
-Freshman point guard Desmond Wade is averaging 8.5 ppg and has a team-high 50 assists...his 6.3 apg average ranks 25th nationally.
-6-11 center Marcus Cousin nearly averages a double-double (14.5 pts.; 9.8 reb.) through eight games...Cousin ranks 26th nationally in rebounds per game.
-UH averages 79.9 ppg (27th nationally) and is holding its opponents to 36.5 percent from the floor (14th nationally).
-Like ISU, the Cougars don't turn the ball over often...ISU ranks 10th nationally in fewest turnovers per game (11.8 tpg), but the Cougars rank No. 1 in the nation in least amount of turnovers, averaging, just 9.1 tpg.
-UH's 1.62 assist/turnover ratio is third nationally.

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Bryan Petersen

Bryan Petersen

Lucca Staiger

Lucca Staiger

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