Welcome to the first installment of the Weekly Wrap Up. What this post lacks in a creative title, it will hopefully make for in a light-hearted overview of the week that was for Iowa State, the Big 12 and the rest of the national basketball scene.
Iowa State
The Cyclones topped a solid Lehigh team with a 86-77 victory yesterday. That final score was not indicative of the way ISU dominated the second half, as the Cyclones coasted after establishing a 26-point lead with only a few minutes left to play. Here are a few game notes we took away:
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-(Hyperbole Alert) Royce White had one of the greatest debuts in Iowa State history, notching 25 points and 11 boards and 3 blocks just for good measure. He also dumptrucked some poor fool with this sick dunk before half time.
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-The four transfers (Royce White, Chris Allen, Chris Babb and Anthony Booker) each scored in double figures and accounted for 55 of ISU's 86 points.
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Look for a more production out of the bench this year. Along with Booker's 10 points, he also grabbed 5 rebounds and knocked down his only three-point attempt. Tyrus McGee had a nice debut as well pouring in 8 points and knocking down both of his three-point attempts.
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Walk on Bubu Palo continues to make the most of minutes on the floor. He converted his only three-pointer and played hounding defense while allowing the starting back court to rest.
Next Game: Tuesday, November 15th at Drake
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The Bulldogs, though undermanned, routed Division-II Upper Iowa 83-58 on Saturday. Drake was without sophomore standout Rayvonte Rice, who will be back for Tuesday's contest with Iowa State.
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The Cyclones have dominated Drake the last two meetings winning 91-43 last year in Ames and 90-70 two years ago at the Knapp Center in Des Moines. Expect more of the same on Tuesday as Drake will be missing F Seth Van Deest, who is injured.
The Big 12
Being the first weekend of the season, there's not much to report but there were a few things worth noting in Big 12 land.
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Texas A&M standout Kris Middleton will miss the next 3-4 weeks after having surgery for a partially torn meniscus. Middleton led A&M in scoring last season.
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Oklahoma was placed on 3 years probation stemming from the fallout after former player, Keith "Tiny" Gallon was found to have received improper benefits. All of this happened under former coach Jeff Capel, who was replaced by Lon Kruger this off-season. OU was already on probation from the Kelvin Sampson mess, so they're now on top secret double probation or something and Dean Wormer has got his eye on them.
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All Big 12 teams survived their openers with only the Sooners and Texas Tech laboring to pull out victories. The schedule is pretty light for everyone in the conference this upcoming week except Kansas, who will travel to Madison Square Garden and take on #2 Kentucky to open the State Farm Champions Classic.
Around the Country
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Friday night was truly a spectacle and kudos to the Armed Forces, North Carolina, Michigan State and all who were involved in the first Carrier Classic. It was an amazing scene and a great way to not only honor the veterans, but also kick off the college basketball season in impressive fashion.
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Duke routed Presbyterian and Coach K notched his 902nd career win, tying Bob Knight for most all time. In a related story, if you've ever asked yourself if it was possible for Ryan Kelly to look anymore like a goofy shithead, he now has a beard.
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The hoops action will get dialed up a notch this week as ESPN does their 24-hour basketball showcase, where there will be continuous college basketball on for 24 consecutive hours.Tuesday will also be a great day for hoops as #10 Florida takes on #3 Ohio State, #6 Duke battles Michigan State and the aforementioned Kansas-Kentucky tussle.