ISU Faces Drake on ESPNU

AMES, Iowa--Iowa State (6-1) will play host to Drake (6-2) on Tuesday in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU. It will be the first of two games the Cyclones will play against their instate rivals this week. ISU will travel to Iowa on Friday in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series.

Iowa State (6-1) vs. Drake (6-2)
When: Tue., Dec. 9, 2008 - 8:00 p.m.
Where: Ames, Iowa; Hilton Coliseum (14,356)
Live Stats: cyclones.com.
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network: John Walters (pxp) and Eric Heft (color)
Television: ESPNU: Dave Armstrong (pxp) and Reid Gettys (color)
Webcast: None

Complete Pre-Event Coverage
Notes Monday Newsconference	_	Live Stats

Cyclone Notebook
-Iowa State (6-1) will play host to Drake (6-2) on Tuesday in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU.
-It will be the first of two games the Cyclones will play against their instate rivals this week...ISU will travel to Iowa on Friday in the Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series.
-ISU was successful in its first game for state bragging rights, defeating Northern Iowa, 71-66 in overtime last Wednesday.
-The Cyclones won their last mythical state championship in the 2005-06 season, sweeping Drake, Northern Iowa and Iowa.
-ISU helped the Big 12 take a 6-4 lead in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series with a 63-50 victory over Oregon State on Saturday.
-The Cyclones are 2-0 lifetime in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
-ISU has won 11 consecutive non-conference home games dating back to last season.
-The OSU win improved ISU's record to 21-0 when holding its opponents to under 60 points in the Greg McDermott era.
-The Cyclones, who rank second in the Big 12 in FG percentage defense, have kept every opponent to 40 percent or below shooting from the field this season (35.7 pct.).

Last Time Out
-Iowa State won its third-straight game with a 63-50 victory over Oregon State in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series on Saturday.
-The Cyclones were led by sophomores Lucca Staiger and Craig Brackins, who tallied 14 and 13 points, respectively.
-Staiger notched a career high in points (14) and equaled his career best total in 3-pointers with four...Staiger hit two big 3-pointers in the final five minutes to stave off a late Beaver comeback.
-Brackins capped off an outstanding week with his second consecutive double-double by recording 13 points and 10 boards vs. OSU...Brackins averaged 22.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in his two games last week, including a 32-point, 16-rebound effort at Northern Iowa.
-Brackins, who is tied for third in the league in scoring (18.0 ppg), has scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games dating back to last season.
-Diante Garrett had an outstanding all-around game vs. OSU, recording eight points, seven assists and seven boards...Garrett ranks third in the Big 12 and 37th nationally in assists (5.6 apg) and is averaging 8.0 rebounds in the last two games.
-True freshman Wes Eikmeier came off the bench to score nine points behind a pair of 3-pointers...Eikmeier leads ISU with 13 treys on the season...he is shooting 44.8 percent from 3-point range to rank seventh in the Big 12.
-The Cyclones netted 10-of-23 shots from 3-point range, their fourth double digit 3-point shooting game of the season...ISU did not make 10 3-pointers in a game once last season.
-ISU held Oregon State to 40 percent shooting from the field...the Cyclones have held all seven opponents this season to 40 percent or below accuracy from the floor...ISU currently ranks second in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense (35.7 pct.)
-The Cyclones outrebounded their third-straight opponent, 33-27
-ISU had 19 assists for its 21 field goals in the game...ISU recorded more assists (19) than turnovers (13) for the fifth time this season to help ISU rank second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio (1.38 a/t).

Cyclone-Bulldog Quick Facts
-The Iowa State-Drake series is one of the oldest annual rivalries west of the Mississippi...the two teams have met every season since 1908.
-ISU leads the all-time series at 104-63 and has the advantage in games played in Ames at 58-24 and is 16-3 in games played in Hilton Coliseum.
-Drake ended a four-game losing streak to ISU with an 80-78 win two years ago the last time the two teams met in Hilton Coliseum...it also ended a 13-game losing streak to ISU in Hilton.
-The Bulldogs have won the last two games in the series, including last season's 79-44 rout in the Knapp Center...the 35-point win was the largest margin of victory for Drake in the series.
-ISU shot 37.8 percent from the field and committed 21 turnovers in the game...Craig Brackins tallied six points and the Cyclones only had one player in double figures (Wesley Johnson- 10).
-The Bulldogs made 50 percent of their shots and were led by Josh Young, who buried four treys en route to a game-high 23 points.
-ISU head coach Greg McDermott has faced Drake a number of times in his career...he is 8-4 all-time vs. Drake, going 8-2 vs. the Bulldogs as head coach at UNI...he is 0-2 against Drake as the Cyclone mentor.
-Many of the Drake and Iowa State players competed together as teammates in the summer Capital City League in Des Moines...ISU's Jamie Vanderbeken was teammates with Drake's Sean Jones and Jacob Baryenbruch on the team that won the championship.

A Closer Look At Drake (6-2)
-Drake (6-2) won two games over the weekend, defeating Texas-Pan American (59-57) and North Carolina Central (89-46) in the Iowa Realty Invitational.
-The Bulldogs were led by Jonathan Cox in the NCC win, posting 21 points and seven rebounds...Cox made 5-of-6 shots from 3-point range.
-The undisputed leader of the Bulldog squad is junior guard Josh Young...Young, who was a first-team all-MVC choice a year ago and was a preseason all-league pick, is averaging 15.1 points to pace the Bulldogs.
-Young, who scored 23 points against ISU last season, has made 18 treys and has been automatic at the charity stripe, making 37-of-40 free-throws this season (92.5 percent)...Young tallied a career-high 34 points vs. Morehead State.
-Cox, a senior forward, helps form DU's outstanding inside-outside tandem...Cox, who joined Young on the MVC preseason all-league first-team, is averaging 12.1 points and has a team-high 8.0 rebounding average.
-Cox has made 48.7 percent of his shots from 3-point range this season.
-Junior guard Craig Stanley is averaging 6.6 points and leads the team in assists at 4.7 apg...he dished out a career-high 11 assists in DU's win over Lincoln.
-Reserve guard Josh Parker has been a spark off the bench for the Bulldogs...Parker, who is averaging 11.0 points, tallied a career-high 22 points behind six treys in the Lincoln win...he has made 15-of-27 shots from 3-point range this season (55.6 percent).
-The Bulldogs are a team you don't want to foul...the rank in the top-20 nationally in free-throw percentage, hitting 78.8 percent of their shots at the charity stripe.
-The Bulldogs are averaging 10.0 3-point goals per game.
-Drake is coached by first-year man Mark Phelps, who spent the last two seasons as an associate head coach at Arizona State with Herb Sendek.

Bombs Away!
-I guess the ISU basketball team did not get the memo that the 3-point line was moved back a foot.
-ISU is averaging 8.4 3-pointers made per game at a 38.8 percent clip, third fourth and fourth, respectively, in the Big 12...ISU ranks 32nd nationally in 3-pointers mpg.
-The Cyclones have netted 10 or more treys four times this season, including a school-record 15 on 27 attempts (55.6%) vs. UW-Milwaukee...ISU failed to hit double digit 3-pointers in a single game once last season.
-At its current 8.4 3FG made per game rate, ISU is on pace to shatter its previous mark for 3-pointers made in a season...the current mark is owned by the 2005-06 squad at 6.7 3FG made per game.

Mythical State Championship
-The college basketball scene in the state of Iowa is unique, in the sense that all four Division I basketball programs (Iowa State, Drake, Iowa, Northern Iowa) play the other three instate schools every season in men's hoops.
-All teams play a home-and-home, switching venues every year.
-ISU has not won the mythical state championship since the 2005-06 season...ISU is 1-0 so far this year with a 71-66 overtime win at Northern Iowa.
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

Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
-ISU has helped the Big 12 take a 6-4 lead in the 2008 Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series with a 63-50 win over Oregon State.
-ISU is 2-0 all-time in the series, winning in overtime at Oregon State, 71-64 last year...the Pac-10 won the series a year ago at 7-5.

60 Is The Magic Number
-Greg McDermott's Cyclone teams have always had the reputation for solid defense...ISU has held all but three teams this year to less than 60 points and have not allowed a team to shoot above 40 percent from the field once this season.
-Now in his third year at the helm, McDermott is a perfect 21-0 when an opponent fails to score 60 points.

Stingy Defense
-Through seven games, ISU has not allowed an opponent to shoot above 40 percent from the field this season, keeping its opponents at a 35.7 percent clip to rank second in the league.
-The last time ISU held seven consecutive opponents to 40 percent shooting or below was in the 1999-2000 season.

Bench Play
-The Cyclones have the deepest bench since Greg McDermott took over in the 2006-07 season...ISU's third- and fourth-leading scorers - Wes Eikmeier (8.0) and Jamie Vanderbeken (6.4) - have not started a game this year.
-The Cyclones, who are averaging 23.2 ppg from their bench, have received at least 20 points from their bench in five of seven games, outscoring their opponents bench in all but one game.
-34.2 percent of ISU's scoring this season has come from its bench.

Assists Are Up; Turnovers Down
-The Cyclones have done a remarkable job so far taking care of the basketball while being efficient on the offensive end.
-ISU has handed out 17 or more assists in five of seven games, including dishing out 20 or more twice...the Cyclones have tallied more assists than turnovers in five games this season and have recorded two games with under 10 turnovers.
-ISU currently ranks second in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio at 1.4.
-ISU has two players ranked among the top-6 in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio: Diante Garrett (4th, 2.8 a/t) and Bryan Petersen (6th, 2.2 a/t).

Petersen One of ISU's Most Efficient Playmakers; Shooters
-Senior Bryan Petersen ranks in ISU's career top-10 in both assist/turnover ratio and 3-point accuracy.
-Petersen's 1.71 assist/turnover ratio rates as the ninth-best in school history with a minimum of 100 assists...he currently ranks sixth in the Big 12 in a/t ratio this season at 2.4 a/t.
-Petersen has made 57-of-147 3-pointers in his career for a 38.8 percentage...that percentage is sixth-best in school history with a minimum of 50 made.

Brackins Taking The Next Step
-Craig Brackins was one of the highest-rated recruits to ever sign with the Cyclones and the sophomore is living up to the hype.
-Brackins is tied for third in the Big 12 in scoring (18.0), tallying 10 or more points in all seven games, including three 20+ games and one 30-point outing.
-Brackins, who has started all 39 games of his career, has recorded 10-straight double-digit scoring games and has eight career 20-point games.
-Brackins tallied his second 30-point game of his career with 32 points and a career-high 16 boards at Northern Iowa...he is the 21st Cyclone in school history to have multiple 30-point games.
-He was the last Cyclone to register a 30-point/10-rebound game since Martin Rancik did it in Nov. 21, 2000 (Morningside)...it was the first 30-point/15-board performance for a Cyclone since Loren Meyer tallied 31 points and 15 boards vs. Nebraska on March 5, 1995.
-Brackins has posted double-doubles in his last two games, averaging 22.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in that span.

Garrett Is ISU's Playmaker
-Sophomore Diante Garrett's improvement has been a key to ISU's success this season...Garrett is second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and ranks third in the Big 12 and 37th nationally in assists (5.6 apg).
-Garrett, who dished out a career-high 11 assists vs. Loyola-Marymount, has the fourth-best assist/turnover ratio in the Big 12 (2.8 a/t).
-The Milwaukee, Wis., native poured in a career-high 26 points at Hawaii, making 10-of-10 from the free-throw line...it was just the 16th time in school history where a Cyclone was perfect from the charity stripe with 10 or more attempts.
-Garrett leads the team in free-throw percentage (75.0 percent)...he has made 24-of-his-last-28 (85.7 percent) free-throw attempts.
-Garrett, who also ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.1 rpg), has dished out five or more assists in four games.

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Wes Eikmeier

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Wesley Johnson

Bryan Petersen

Bryan Petersen

Lucca Staiger

Lucca Staiger

Jamie Vanderbeken

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