ISU Hits The Road To Face The Sooners

Iowa State (13-11, 3-6) At Oklahoma (15-8, 3-5)
Feb. 13, 2008 ? 7 p.m.? Norman, Okla. ? Lloyd Noble Center (12,000)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: John Walters (pxp); Eric Heft (color)
Television: ESPN Regional/Big 12 Network
Talent: Bob Carpenter (pxp); Reid Gettys (color)

The Iowa State-Oklahoma game will be broadcasted by the ESPN Regional/Big 12 Network. You can view the game on the following outlets in Iowa: WOI (Des Moines/Ames), KFXA (Cedar Rapids/Waterloo), KQEG (LaCrosse), Spencer Utilities/Cable One (Sioux City). The game will also be available on the ESPN Full Court package.

Cyclone Notebook
-Iowa State (13-11, 3-6) travels to Oklahoma (15-8, 3-5) to battle the Sooners on Wednesday in Norman...ISU has lost five-straight games to the Sooners in Norman...its last win at Oklahoma was a 70-58 triumph on Feb. 14, 1996.
-Iowa State is currently tied for ninth in the Big 12 standings at 3-6 and the Sooners are tied for sixth at 3-5...ISU will receive its bye week after the Centennial Celebration game this weekend vs. Nebraska.
-ISU has lost five of its last six games after a heartbreaking overtime loss to No. 12 Texas on Saturday...ISU had a 13-point second half lead in the game...it was the ninth consecutive loss to a ranked opponent and the second loss in a row at home for ISU.
-Jiri Hubalek has been ISU's go-to guy in recent games...Hubalek led the Cyclones with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting against the Longhorns...Hubalek is averaging 20.0 ppg in his last three games...Hubalek has led ISU in scoring in the last four games, shooting 55.6 percent (25-45 FG) in that span.
-ISU is 1-6 when allowing its opponents to score 70 points or more and 9-0 when scoring 70 points or more.
-ISU head coach Greg McDermott is trying to record his 250th win as a head coach...McDermott has a 249-154 mark in 14 seasons as a head coach.

Last Time Out
-Iowa State held a 13-point second half lead against No. 12 Texas, but could not hold off a late UT rally, falling to the Longhorns, 71-65 in overtime at home on Saturday.
-The loss was ISU's ninth-straight against a ranked opponent.
-ISU was up 11 points with 11:24 left in the game, but UT's A.J. Abrams caught fire, making 7-of-10 shots from 3-point range en route to a game-high 25 points.
-ISU held UT to just 35.7 percent shooting from the floor, the ninth opponent ISU has kept under 40 percent shooting this season.
-However, ISU shot just 36.5 percent from the field, including a 22.2 percent clip from 3-point range (6-27 3FG).
-Jiri Hubalek led ISU in scoring for the fourth-straight game with 24 points, his fifth 20-point scoring outing of his career.
-Hubalek is averaging 20.0 ppg and shooting 55.0 percent (22-40 FG) from the floor in his last three games...Hubalek also grabbed nine boards in the contest...he is tied for sixth in the league in rebounding at 7.2 rpg.
-ISU senior Rahshon Clark was extremely active, scoring nine points and tying a career high with 14 boards...it was Clark's ninth double-digit rebounding effort of his career and he now ranks 17th on ISU's career rebounding list with 615 boards.
-Clark also moved to No. 23 on ISU's career scoring chart with 1,040 career points.
-Diante Garrett came off the bench to tally 10 points and seven assists...the seven assists ties a career high for Garrett...he ranks 10th in assists in league games only, averaging 3.1 assists in Big 12 play.
-The Cyclones have received a major boost from Sean Haluska in recent games...Haluska had nine points on 3-of-5 shooting against the Longhorns...after beginning the season just 8-of-44 from the field and 0-for-26 from 3-point range, Haluska is averaging 6.0 points, shooting 10-of-16 from the floor (62.5 pct.) and 5-of-9 from 3-point range (55.5 pct.) in his last five games.
-The Cyclones made 13-of-16 shots from the foul line to improve their season percentage to 70.7 percent to rank fourth in the Big 12...ISU has not shot above 70 percent from the free-throw line in a season since hitting 74.8 percent in the 2001-02 season.

Cyclone-Sooner Quick Facts
-Oklahoma leads the all-time series at 106-77.
-Oklahoma leads the series in games played in Norman at 58-21.
-ISU has lost five-straight games in Norman, including its last game two years ago, 83-82 on Feb. 18, 2006...ISU lost the game despite having a seven-point lead with 1:12 left in the game.
-The last time ISU defeated OU in Norman was a 70-58 victory on Feb. 14, 1996.
-ISU head coach Greg McDermott and OU head coach Jeff Capel are both in their second seasons...the teams split games last season...ISU won in Ames (58-51) and OU won in Oklahoma City (68-63) in the first round of the 2007 Big 12 Tournament.
-OU sophomore Tony Crocker and ISU freshman Wesley Johnson were briefly teammates for the Patterson School prep school in North Carolina...Johnson was there for a short time before transferring to Eldon Academy in Michigan.
-Jiri Hubalek is averaging 13.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in three games vs. the Sooners...Hubalek scored a then-career-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the floor in ISU's 58-51 win in Ames last year.
-ISU freshman Craig Brackins and OU freshman Blake Griffin are two of eight Big 12 rookies who were ranked in the final Rivals.com top-50 for the Class of 2007: Michael Beasley, Kansas State (1); Bill Walker, Kansas State (7); Deandre Jordan, Texas A&M (8); Craig Brackins, Iowa State (20); Blake Griffin, Oklahoma (23); Cole Aldrich, Kansas (30); James Anderson, Oklahoma State (32); LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor (46).

A Closer Look At Oklahoma (15-8, 3-5)
-Oklahoma sports a 15-8 overall mark and a 3-5 Big 12 record after a 72-58 loss at Colorado on Saturday.
-The Sooners were led by Blake Griffin, who had 25 points and five boards.
-OU will likely be playing without one of its top performers in 6-11 center Longar Longar...Longar broke a bone in his lower right leg against Texas A&M and is out indefinitely...Longar was averaging 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds.
-The Sooners are led by their outstanding freshman Blake Griffin...Griffin, who averages 15.0 points and 8.5 rebounds, has been named Big 12 Player of the Week twice and Rookie of the Week once.
-Griffin has seven double-doubles this season and leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage (58.9 pct.)...he ranks fourth in the Big 12 in rebounding (8.5 rpg).
-Sophomore guard Tony Crocker is averaging 10.8 points and has a team-high 42 3-pointers on the season...Crocker is making 44.7 percent of his shots from beyond the arc this season.
-OU ranks fifth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense, holding its opponents to 40.1 percent shooting from the field.
-The Sooners have been successful on the boards, ranking fourth in the league in rebounding margin at +3.5.
-OU has shot 91 more free-throws than its opponents this year.

70 Is The Magic Number
-Keeping the opposition from getting into a high-scoring game increases ISU's chances of winning...in the McDermott era, ISU is 26-11 when its opponents score under 70 points...ISU has given up 70 points 18 times to its opponents since McDermott took over, going 2-16.
-On the opposite end, Cyclones are 9-0 when reaching 70 points this season.

Don't Foul!
-Keeping fouls at a minimum has always been a staple of Greg McDermott-coached teams...ISU ranked 33rd nationally (16.5 fpg) in McDermott's first season at the helm a year ago.
-This season, the Cyclones have continued its strong track record of guarding opponents without fouling, ranking 18th nationally in least fouls per game (15.7 fpg).

Congratulations Graduates!
-ISU has two members of its team who graduated in December and are currently enrolled in graduate classes in seniors Jiri Hubalek and Mark Currie.
-Hubalek earned a degree in liberal arts and sciences and Currie graduated in civil engineering.

Clark Accomplishes Rare Big 12 Milestone
-ISU senior Rahshon Clark is wrapping up a solid career and is surpassing a number milestones in his final season.
-He is already the only player in ISU history to rank in the top-10 in career blocks, steals and 3-pointers.
-When Clark buried a first half trey vs. No. 18 Texas A&M on Feb. 5, the senior accomplished an unprecedented feat...Clark became the first player in Big 12 history (1996-97) to achieve 1,000 points, 100 steals, 100 3-pointers and 100 blocks in a career.
-Clark currently has 1,040 career points, 139 career steals, 101 career blocks and 101 career 3-pointers.
-Texas' Kris Clack (1996-99) accomplished the feat, but he played one season in the Southwest Conference.

Brackins' Big Night
-Craig Brackins made an immediate splash in his Big 12 debut vs. Baylor...the true freshman set ISU rookie single-game standards in points (33) and 3-pointers (8), going 12-of-17 from the field and 8-of-10 from downtown in the 74-67 loss.
-Brackins' 33 points was one point better than the old mark formerly held by Curtis Stinson (32 vs. Rutgers, 2003-04) and Barry Stevens (32 vs. Northern Iowa, 1981-82).
-His eight treys was one shy off ISU's single-game school mark (9 by Dedric Willoughby vs. Kansas in 1996-97) and it shattered the previous freshman standard formerly held by Jake Sullivan (6 vs. Kansas, 2000-01).
-Brackins' 12 field goals against the Bears ranks second to Ron Harris for most field goals made in a game by a rookie...Harris tallied 13 field goals against Drake in 1980-81.
-He is one of five Big 12 freshmen to score 33 or more points in a game (Kevin Durant, Texas; Michael Beasley, Kansas State; Bernard King, Texas A&M; Aaron Bruce, Baylor) since the league formed in the 1996-97 season.

Turnovers Are Down
-ISU ranks 61st nationally and is tied for fifth in the Big 12 in fewest amount of turnovers (13.3 tpg).
-ISU has had five games with under 10 turnovers this season.

Free-Throw Shooting
-ISU has been a solid free-throw shooting team all season, making 70.7 percent of its shots from the charity stripe to rank fourth in the Big 12.
-Not only is ISU connecting on its shots from the line, it is getting there more often...through ISU's first seven games, the Cyclones shot 100 free-throws...ISU has shot 340 foul shots in its last 17 games.
-ISU is shooting 71.4 percent from the line in Big 12 games to rank fifth in the league...Rahshon Clark is shooting 80 percent and Wesley Johnson, who has made 10 consecutive free-throws, is shooting 78.6 percent from the line to lead the Cyclones.

Tough Defense
-ISU has been successful at limiting its opponents from successful shooting nights...the Cyclones are holding their opponents to 40.6 percent shooting from the floor to rank seventh in the league in field goal percentage defense...only eight teams this season (Bradley, Drake, Bethune-Cookman, Purdue, Alabama, Missouri, Kansas, Texas A&M) have shot above 43.0 percent against the Cyclones.
-The Cyclones have held two teams (Winston-Salem State; Oregon State) to below 30 percent shooting from the field.
-ISU has held four teams to below 50 points, including a season-low 41 by Colorado...the 41 points is the lowest tally by a conference opponent since Kansas State scored 40 points in 1983.

Defense In The Mac Era
-ISU head coach Greg McDermott has always been a proponent of sound defense and his teams have responded to his coaching...in his second year at the helm, ISU has held 23 teams to below 40 percent shooting, including nine this season.
-ISU has held its opponents to under 60 points 16 times in the Mac era.
-ISU has held two Big 12 opponents (Colorado, Texas) to below 40 percent shooting.

Scoring In Bunches
-ISU has many players who have the ability to record a lot of points in a short period of time.
-Seven times this season, a Cyclone has recorded 14 or more points in a half...Craig Brackins had 18 points in the second half vs. Baylor en route to an ISU freshmen record 33 points.
Top ISU Individual Half Scoring Totals
18 Craig Brackins, 2nd half vs. Baylor
17 Craig Brackins, 1st half vs. Minnesota
17 Wesley Johnson, 2nd half vs. Albany
15 Craig Brackins, 1st half vs. Baylor
16 Jiri Hubalek, 2nd half vs. Purdue
15 Jiri Hubalek, 1st half vs. Texas Southern
14 Wesley Johnson, 2nd half vs. Missouri
-In the Albany game, Johnson scored 15 consecutive ISU points on five-straight possessions in a three-minute span...Johnson scored 13 points in the first 8:23 minutes of the first half vs. North Dakota.
-Against Purdue, Hubalek recorded ISU's first 16 points of the second half in a five-minute span.
-Against Baylor, Brackins scored 15 points in the final 5:36 of the first half to help ISU forge a 38-31 halftime lead.

Clark Finishing Up Outstanding Career
-Senior Rahshon Clark is in his fourth season as a starter for the Cyclones and is no question one of the team leaders...Clark has started 102 career games and in 56 consecutive games.
-Clark is the only four-year player left on the ISU roster and stuck with Coach McDermott when most of his teammates left after former coach Wayne Morgan was relieved of his duties.
-Clark is one of the most athletic and dynamic players in the Big 12...possessing a 39-inch vertical step jump, Clark's high-flying dunks have excited the Hilton crowd since 2004-05...Clark has 72 career dunks.
-Clark is averaging 9.3 points and 5.8 rebounds...he is shooting 50.9 percent from the floor (83-163 FG)...he has been above 50 percent from the field in 13 of 24 games this season.
-Clark is the only player in school history to rank in the career top-10 in steals (10th-139), blocks (6th-101) and 3-pointers (8th-101)...he also ranks in the top-20 in career rebounds (17th-615).
-Clark earned all-tournament honors at the Las Vegas Classic.
-Clark became the 26th player in ISU history to join the 1,000-point club after scoring 10 points vs. Oklahoma State...Clark ranks 23rd all-time in ISU's career scoring chart with 1,040 points.
-The senior is the only player in Big 12 history to record 1,000 points, 100 steals, 100 blocks and 100 3-pointers in a career.
-He ranks 10th in the Big 12 in blocks (1.17 bpg).
-Clark has excelled at being ISU's go-to defensive stopper, always drawing the assignment of guarding the opposing team's top offensive perimeter player.

Brackins Making Solid Debut
-Heralded rookie sensation Craig Brackins, a 6-10 freshman from Palmdale, Calif., has been impressive in his inaugural season...Brackins, who has started every game so far, was outstanding in his first career game, recording a double-double vs. Winston-Salem State, the first Cyclone freshman to record double-digits in both points (13) and rebounds (10) in their first game.
-Brackins is third on the team in scoring at 11.5 ppg and has two double-doubles and three games with 20 or more points.
-Brackins has scored in double figures in 15 of 24 games this season...he posted 23 points vs. Minnesota and Oregon State.
-Brackins was almost unstoppable in his Big 12 debut, breaking the school freshman scoring mark with 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor and an 8-of-10 effort from beyond the arc...the eight treys also broke the single-game freshman standard for 3-pointers in a game.
-Brackins is one of five Big 12 freshmen to score 33 points or more in a game.
-Brackins is trying to become just the third rookie in ISU history to start every game of their first season: Ron Harris (27, 1980-81) and Adam Haluska (31, 2002-03)...he has started in all 24 games this season.
-Brackins is averaging 12.7 ppg in conference play, reaching double figures in seven of nine Big 12 games.
-In league games only, Brackins is 14-of-39 (35.9 percent) from 3-point range after making 4-of-18 (22.3 percent) in non-conference play.
-Brackins has 27 blocks this year, which ties for the fourth-best total for an ISU rookie...he ranks 12th in the Big 12 in blocks at 1.13 bpg.

Hubalek's Improvement
-Hubalek had been slowed all season by a broken foot that occurred in the preseason and is now just hitting his stride.
-Hubalek always has been a slow starter...he averaged 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in his first six games last year, but responded by averaging 12.4 points and 7.4 rebounds in his last 19 games a year ago.
-This year, Hubalek averaged 7.8 points and shot 40 percent (22-55 FG) in his first seven games...however, Hubalek is averaging 14.9 points (254) and is shooting 51.5 percent (87-169 FG) in his last 17 games.
-Recently, Hubalek has been even better, taking over as ISU's offensive team leader...Hubalek has led ISU in scoring in four-straight games...he is averaging 20.0 points and shooting 55.0 percent (22-40 FG) from the field in his last three games.
-Hubalek has led ISU in rebounding in 13 of 24 games this season and is currently tied for sixth in the Big 12 on the boards with a 7.2 rpg average.
-Hubalek opened the second half vs. Purdue by scoring ISU's first 16 points in just over a five-minute span...he ended the game with 18 points to help him earn all-tournament honors at the Las Vegas Classic.
-Has has three 20-point games, two double-doubles and a team-high four double-digit rebounding efforts.
-Hubalek has added 35 pounds of muscle since joining the Cyclones in the 2005-06 season.

Wesley Johnson Leads The Team
-ISU's top returning scorer from last season Wesley Johnson got off to a slow start because of injuries...Johnson missed the first four games of the season while nursing a bone bruise in his left foot.
-Unfortunately, Johnson reinjured his foot in the Colorado game (Jan. 29) and missed the Nebraska game (Feb. 2)...he played 31 minutes vs. Texas A&M (Feb. 5).
-Johnson is averaging a team-high 13.7 points and has 34 3-pointers in 19 games.
-He had a streak of 10 consecutive games with double figures until playing just eight minutes in the Colorado game.
-He had scored 20 points or more in the four games prior to the CU game, the longest 20-point streak for a Cyclones since Curtis Stinson scored 20 or more points in six-straight games in the 2005-06 season.
-Johnson tied his career high with five treys against Albany, scoring 15 points on five-straight possessions in a 3-minute span.
-Johnson has 15 double figure scoring games, six 20-point games and has led ISU in scoring nine of 19 games played this year.
-Johnson had back-to-back 20-point games, including a career-high 24 vs. Oklahoma State, to help him earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors (Jan. 14-20).
-Johnson is averaging 15.1 points in Big 12 play to rank ninth.
-Johnson has 66 career 3-pointers to rank 17th all-time on ISU's list.
-The sophomore has made 10 consecutive free-throws.

You're In Good Hands With Petersen
-ISU starting point guard Bryan Petersen may not be the flashiest player, but he has done a tremendous job of starting ISU's offense and taking care of the ball.
-Petersen leads ISU in assists (3.3) and ranks eighth in the Big 12 in assist/turnover ratio at 1.86 a/t.
-Petersen has put together an amazing streak of ball protection and efficiency...the recruited walk-on who is now on scholarship has 60 assists and just 24 turnovers in his last 17 games (2.50 a/t ratio).
-Petersen, who averages 4.8 ppg, has hit 29 3-pointers to boot...83 of his 97 field goals attempted this season have come from long distance.

Iowa State Team Quick Facts
-Iowa State is celebrating 100 years of men's hoops this season...ISU announced a 15-player All-Century team in the summer and will play host to a centennial celebration on Feb. 15-16, inviting back all former letterwinners and coaches for a two-day celebration.
-Iowa State failed to make a 3-pointer in its opening game vs. Winston-Salem State (0-for-12), ending a 63-game streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer.
-ISU held Winston-Salem State to a 25.4 percentage from the floor in the first game...that total ranks 12th on ISU's opponent field goal percentage game lows chart.
-ISU is 11-2 when shooting better than its opponent and 2-9 when shoots worse than its opponent.
-ISU is 9-1 when outrebounding its opponents and 4-10 when getting outrebounded or tying with its opponent on the boards.
-Usually in a basketball game the team that reaches 40 points first is in the drivers seat to win...ISU has reached 40 points first in 17 of 24 games this season, going 12-5 in those games.
-ISU recorded the 400th win in Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 8 against Iowa (56-47).
-ISU has held four teams to under 50 points (Winston-Salem State, Iowa, USC Upstate, Colorado).
-ISU is 11-1 when making more free-throws than its opponent.
-ISU is 9-0 when scoring over 70 points.

Hilton Magic
-Hilton Coliseum has long been considered one of the toughest places to play in college basketball...built in 1971 and playing in its 37th season, ISU has recorded a 74.3 percent winning mark, compiling a 408-141 record.
-ISU has won nine of its last 11 games at home.
-ISU has recorded four undefeated seasons at home since Hilton was erected (1985-86, 1992-93, 1999-00, 2000-01).
-ISU ranked 25th nationally in attendance in 2006-07 (12,489).
-ISU ranks second in the Big 12 in attendance, averaging 13,171 per game.
-ISU broke the record for most season tickets sold this year with over 10,000 season tickets purchased.
-Fans voted Iowa State and Hilton Coliseum as the nation's No. 1 team in regards to school spirit in a poll during ESPN's “student spirit” week in 2006-07.
-In a recent Chicago Tribune article, Hilton Coliseum was ranked as one of the top-seven “College Basketball Heavens”...the article states, “Whenever in-state rival Iowa, Texas, Kansas or Missouri come to town, the noise and tension level goes to another level.”

Cyclones Sign Four
-Iowa State head coach Greg McDermott picked up four players who signed letters of intent to play basketball at Iowa State next season:
Dominique Buckley, G, 6-2, 190, Fr., Detroit, Mich. (Romulus)
Wes Eikmeier, G, 6-3, 175, Fr., Fremont, Neb. (Bergan)
Justin Hamilton, C, 6-11, 220, Fr., Alpine, Utah (Lone Peak)
Clinton Mann, F, 6-7, 220, Fr., Overland Park, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas)

Cyclones Retire Barry Stevens' No. 35
-Barry Stevens, who is ISU's second-leading scorer in school history (2,190 points), had his jersey retired on Jan. 16 against Missouri...Stevens, who was a two-time first-team all-Big Eight choice in 1984 and 1985, died of a heart attack at the age of 43 on Feb. 21, 2007.
-Stevens is one of seven players in ISU history to have his jersey retired: Waldo Wegner (#14), Gary Thompson (#20) Zaid Abdul-Aziz (#35), Jeff Hornacek (#14), Jeff Grayer (#44) and Fred Hoiberg (#32).

ISU Hits The Road To Face The Sooners

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Dominique Buckley

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Mark Currie

Mark Currie

Wes Eikmeier

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Sean Haluska

Sean Haluska

Justin Hamilton

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Wesley Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Clinton Mann

Bryan Petersen

Bryan Petersen

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ISU Hits The Road To Face The Sooners

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Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Dominique Buckley

Rahshon Clark

Rahshon Clark

Mark Currie

Mark Currie

Wes Eikmeier

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Sean Haluska

Sean Haluska

Justin Hamilton

Jiri Hubalek

Jiri Hubalek

Wesley Johnson

Wesley Johnson

Clinton Mann

Bryan Petersen

Bryan Petersen

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