Cyclones Travel To California

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State (6-2) travels to No. 25 California (4-3) in the third year of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU. The Bears are ranked 25th nationally in the ESPN/Coaches Poll and are receiving votes in the Associated Press poll. Cal is the first ranked opponent ISU has faced this year.

Who: Iowa State (6-2, 0-0) at RV/25 California (4-3, 0-0)
When: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009 ? 10 p.m.
Where: Berkeley, Calif. ? Haas Pavilion (11,877)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: John Walters (pxp); Eric Heft (color)
Television: ESPNU
Talent: Todd Harris (pxp); Krista Blunk (color)
Online Audio: Clone Zone

Cyclone Notebook
- Iowa State (6-2) travels to No. 25 California (4-3) in the third year of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU...the Cyclones will host the Bears next year in a return game in the series.
- The Bears are ranked 25th nationally in the ESPN/Coaches Poll and are receiving votes in the Associated Press poll...Cal is the first ranked opponent ISU has faced this year.
- ISU has lost 13-straight games to ranked opponents...its last win vs. a ranked team was on Feb. 5, 2006 when it defeated No. 25 (ESPN/Coaches) Colorado, 96-79.
- The Cyclones are a perfect 2-0 in the history of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, defeating Oregon State twice (2007-Iowa State 71, Oregon State 64, ot, in Corvallis; 2008-Iowa State 63, Oregon State 50 in Ames).
- Iowa State and Texas are the only two Big 12 teams to have never lost a game in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
- The Cyclones are fresh off a 63-60 loss to Northern Iowa Wednesday night...ISU was outscored 18-8 in the final 10 minutes of the game.
- ISU was held to a season-low 60 points.

Last Time Out
- Iowa State fell to 6-2 with a 63-60 loss to Northern Iowa Wednesday night.
- The Cyclones held a 7-point lead with less than 10 minutes left in the game, but were outscored 18-8 the rest of the way.
- The Cyclones had leads of eight and seven with under 13 minutes remaining in the game in their last two losses.
- ISU had two chances to tie the game, but both shots were off the mark.
- ISU was held to a season-low 60 points and had more turnovers (14) than assists (12) for just the second time this season.
- The Cyclones were ahead at the half, 36-31...ISU has been ahead at the half in all eight games this season.
- ISU was led by junior Craig Brackins, who scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the game...Brackins was held without a field goal in the second half.
- Diante Garrett added a team-high 15 points and four assists...Garrett, who leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth nationally in assists (6.6 apg), has reached double figures in scoring in three of his last four games.
- Lucca Staiger hit a pair of treys in the game en route to six points...Staiger, who is second in the Big 12 in 3-pointers per game (3.5 3FG), has 102 treys in his career to tie for eighth all-time on ISU's career 3-pointers made chart.
- Staiger has hit two or more treys 30 times in his career and has made a 3-pointer in nine consecutive games dating back to last season.
- LaRon Dendy saw action for the first time since the St. Louis game...Dendy has been battling a sprained knee for the majority of the season...he did not score and grabbed one rebound in 12 minutes.
- Marquis Gilstrap added 11 points and eight boards in the loss...Gilstrap has been in double figures in seven of eight games this season.
- ISU had been a sound rebounding team in its first five games, outrebounding its first five opponents by a +14.2 margin...however, the Cyclones have been outboarded in two of their last three games, including the Northern Iowa game (38-31), by a -2.3 margin.
- ISU made 8-of-21 treys in the game for a 38.1 percentage, the first time this season where the Cyclones failed to make 40 percent of their 3-point attempts.
- ISU currently ranks fourth nationally in 3-point percentage (47.9 percent) and has made eight or more 3-pointers in five of eight games.

Cyclone-Bear Quick Facts
- Iowa State and California will meet for the fourth time on Saturday...ISU owns the all-time series lead vs. the Bears at 2-1.
- The Cyclones' only loss to the Bears occurred in Berkeley, 102-73 on Dec. 17, 1977.
- The last time the two teams met was in the 1996 NCAA Tournament...the Cyclones defeated Cal, 74-64 in the first round in Dallas, Texas.
- Dedric Willoughby had 23 points and Kenny Pratt added 18 points in the win...Tremaine Fowlkes had 26 points to pace the Bears...NFL All-Pro tight end Tony Gonzalez played in the game, tallying six points and six boards.
- Iowa State is 14-17 lifetime vs. Pac-10 opponents.
- Cal assistant coach Jay John was the head coach at Oregon State when the Cyclones claimed their first Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series victory in Corvallis in 2007.
- Cal assistant coach Gregg Gottlieb is the brother of ESPN announcer Doug Gottlieb...Gregg played basketball at Drake under Rudy Washington...ISU radio play-by-play announcer John Walters was the Drake play-by-play man at the time.

A Closer Look At California
- California, ranked No. 25 nationally with a 4-3 record, is the second-straight opponent the Cyclones have faced that was picked to win their respective leagues...UNI was selected to win the Missouri Valley...the Bears are the favorite to win the Pac-10.
- The Bears lost at New Mexico on Wednesday, 86-78...Jamal Boykin led Cal with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
- Three players playing in Saturday's game are preseason Naismith Award watch list members...ISU's Craig Brackins and Cal's Jerome Randle made both the Naismith and Wooden Award preseason lists...The Bears' Patrick Christopher is also on the Naismith preseason watch list.
- Randle, a 5-10 senior guard from Chicago, is one of the best point guards in the country...Randle, who ranks ranks in the top-15 in career scoring with 1,295 points, is averaging 20.4 points and shooting 92.4 percent from the free-throw line.
- Randle is the school's all-time leader in free-throw percentage (85.9 percent; 282-328).
- Christopher, a senior guard from Compton, Calif., joins Randle to form one of the best backcourt tandems in the nation...Christopher has scored over 1,200 points in his career and is third on the team in scoring at 14.0 ppg.
- Senior forward Theo Robertson missed five games with a sore foot...he needs 61 points to join the 1,000-point club at Cal...Robertson is averaging 18.0 points in his two games played this year.

Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series
- This is the third season of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series.
- The Pac-10 holds a slight lead in the overall series prior to Thursday's games (Dec. 3) at 13-12.
- The Pac-10 was the winer in 2007 at 7-5 and the conferences tied last season (2008) at 6-6.
- Iowa State and Texas are the only two Big 12 schools to have never lost a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series game...the Cyclones defeated Oregon State twice in the first two seasons.

2009 Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series Schedule
Nov. 29: Nebraska 51, USC 48
Dec. 3: Washington at Texas Tech; USC at Texas; Baylor at Arizona State.
Dec. 4: Colorado at Oregon State
Dec. 5: Oregon at Missouri; Washington State at Kansas State; Iowa State at California
Dec. 6: Kansas at UCLA; Arizona at Oklahoma
Dec. 16: Oklahoma State at Stanford
Dec. 22: Texas A&M at Washington

ISU/McDermott Against Rated Opponents
- ISU is 68-203 all-time against ranked opponents (ranked at tip)...California is ISU's first ranked opponent of the season.
- ISU's last win against a ranked opponent was a 96-79 win over No. 25 Colorado on Feb. 5, 2006...25 of ISU's 68 wins vs. ranked opponents are against top-10 teams.
- ISU is 7-102 vs. ranked opponents on the road and 46-62 vs. rated foes at home.
- ISU's last win against a ranked team on the road was a 63-61 overtime victory over No. 2 Kansas on Feb. 19, 2005.
- ISU head coach Greg McDermott is 0-12 vs. ranked opponents while at ISU.
- ISU has lost 13 games in a row to ranked opponents.

Iowa State Team Quick Facts
- ISU has led at the half in all eight games.
- ISU's largest deficit this season is 7 points (63-56, 2nd half vs. Northwestern).
- In ISU's two losses, the Cyclones have held leads of seven points or more with less than 13 minutes remaining in both games.
- ISU has scored 70 points or more in five of eight games this season, averaging 77.5 ppg...ISU is 27-2 in the Greg McDermott era when scoring 70 points or more.
- ISU's scoring offense is currently at a 12.6 ppg increase from last season...ISU averaged 64.9 ppg last year (77.5-64.9).
- ISU has scored 80 or more points in four of eight games...the Cyclones only reached 80 points once last season.
- The Cyclones scored 90 points or more in consecutive games (at Drake; vs. Mississippi Valley State) for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
- ISU defeated Mississippi Valley State, 96-55...the 96 points is the most in the Greg McDermott era...the most points scored by a Greg McDermott-coached team vs. a Division I opponent was 99 against Iowa State when he was head coach at UNI (2004).
- ISU won five consecutive games by 20+ points for just the third time in school history and for the first time since 2000.
- ISU is fourth in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (49.1 percent).
- ISU has shot 50 percent or above in four of eight games for a 49.1 percent season tally...ISU is 12-0 when shooting 50 percent or above in the McDermott era.
- In the first three seasons of the Greg McDermott era, ISU only shot above 50 percent eight times...ISU has done it four times this season.
- ISU is fourth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at 47.9 percent (70-146 3FG).
- ISU has shot above 40 percent from 3-point range in seven of eight games.
- ISU is second in the Big 12 and ranks in the top-20 nationally in 3-pointers made per game at 8.8 3FG.
- ISU has made 10 or more 3-pointers three times this season.
- The Cyclones have handed out 19 or more assists four times this year, ranking second in the Big 12 in assists at 18.0 apg.
- The Cyclones have had equal or more assists than turnovers six times this season.
- ISU has only been outrebounded twice this year (St. Louis/Northern Iowa)...the Cyclones rank fourth in the Big 12 in rebounding margin +8.0.
- ISU outrebounded its first five opponents by a +14.1 margin...the Cyclones have a -2.3 rebounding margin in their last three games.
- ISU is 30-2 in the McDermott era when its opponents score under 60 points.
- ISU averaged 8.0 steals per game in its first five games...ISU is averaging 1.7 spg in its last three games.

Iowa State Player Quick Facts
Craig Brackins
- Preseason All-American...Wooden and Naismith Award candidate.
- Named to the Chicago Invitational All-Tournament team (17.0 pts./7.5 reb.).
- Named Big 12 Player of the Week four times in his career...once this year.
- Has 26 20-point games and four 30-point games in his career.
- Has 16 20-point/10-rebound games and 20 double-doubles in his career.
- Ranks 21st on ISU's career scoring chart with 1,144 points.
- Ranks ninth on ISU's career blocked shot chart (72).
- Scored in double figures in 41 of his last 43 games.
- Blocked a career-high six shots vs. Chicago State.
- Posted back-to-back 20-point/10-rebound games vs. Drake and Mississippi Valley State to earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
- Leads team with two double-doubles and has two 20-point/10-rebound outings this year.
- Ranks eighth in Big 12 scoring (16.6 ppg) and 7th in rebounding (7.8 rpg).

Diante Garrett
- Has the team's longest current starting streak at 40-straight games.
- Handed out five or more assists 30 times in his career...six games this season.
- Ranks 11th on ISU's all-time career assist chart with 305.
- Has a 3.3 assist/turnover ratio so far this season (53/16) to rank 3rd in Big 12.
- Leads the Big 12 and ranks ninth nationally in assists at 6.6 apg.
- Has six double-digit assist games in his career...two this season.
- Tied his career high with 11 assists at Drake, tying the Knapp Center record.
- Scored a season-high 16 points in the St. Louis win.

Lucca Staiger
- Has made two or more treys 30 times in his career...seven times this season.
- Has four games in his career with six or more treys...two times this season.
- Made a 3-pointer in every game this year and has a streak of nine consecutive games with a trey dating back to last season.
- Second in Big 12 and top-20 nationally in 3-pointers per game (3.5 3FG).
- Hitting 46.7 percent (28-60 3FG) from 3-point range.
- Tied for eighth on ISU's career 3-pointers made list with 102.
- His 40.4 percentage from 3-point range ranks third all-time in school history.
- Broke the school record for 3-pointers made in a game with 10 at Drake...that mark ties for second on the Big 12's single game chart.
- Tallied a career-high 32 points at Drake.
- Owns two of the top three ISU single-game 3-pointers made marks (10 vs. Drake; 8 vs. Drake).
- Named to the Chicago Invitational All-Tournament team (14.0 pts./9-21 3FG).

Scott Christopherson
- Averaging 8.3 ppg.
- Tied for first in the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage (12-21) at 57.1 percent.
- Scored in double figures from off the bench in five games.
- Made 53.3 percent of his shots from the field (24-of-45 FG).
- Recorded two or more 3-pointers five times.

Marquis Gilstrap
- Started all eight games, averaging 8.3 rebounds to rank sixth in the Big 12.
- Averaging 13.1 ppg to rank second on the team.
- Scored in double figures in seven of eight games this year.
- Recorded his first double-double with 11 points and 15 rebounds vs. Chicago State...the 15 boards was the most by a Cyclone since Brackins had 16 vs. SIU-E.
- Posted a career-high 21 points vs. Mississippi Valley State (8-11 FG; 3-4 3FG).
- Tied for the team lead in double-doubles with two.
- Earned Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors on Nov. 23.

Jamie Vanderbeken
- Has made 62.5 percent of his shots this year (15-24 FG).
- Is a career 42.5 percent shooter from beyond the arc (43-101 3FG)...he needs seven treys to meet the school's minimum for career 3-point percentage.
- Made 8-of-15 from beyond the arc this year.
- Sat out much of the preseason after a suffering a stress fracture in tryouts for the Great Britain team that participated in the 2009 European Championships.

Justin Hamilton
- Started every game at center...leads team in FG percentage (84.2 pct./16-19 FG).

LaRon Dendy
- Scored 16 points and grabbed seven boards in his Cyclone debut vs. Idaho St.
- Missed five games because of a knee sprain this season.

Players Mentioned

Craig Brackins

Craig Brackins

Scott Christopherson

Scott Christopherson

LaRon Dendy

Diante Garrett

Diante Garrett

Marquis Gilstrap

Justin Hamilton

Justin Hamilton

Lucca Staiger

Lucca Staiger

Jamie Vanderbeken

Jamie Vanderbeken

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