We're Talking Coppin State

One more patsy stands between Iowa State and an 18-game gauntlet, or as some call it, the Big 12 Conference. On Wednesday night, the Cyclones will face their final non-conference tune up against a miserable Coppin State outfit that already has four 30-point losses on their resume.

At 2-12, the Eagles are very likely one of the worst teams in the country and both of their wins came against non-D1 competition. This will be the second trip Coppin State has made to the state of Iowa, having already suffered a 35-point loss to the Hawkeyes back on November 15th.

Coppin State By the Numbers

• The Eagles rank 336th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency according to kenpom.com and 320th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
• To make matters worse on the defensive end of the floor, Coppin State is getting crushed on the offensive glass. Opponents have an offensive rebounding rate of 37.2% against the Eagles, which is good for 338th nationally.
• This team is polar opposites when it comes to the 3-point game. Coppin State is shooting sub-30% as a team from outside, but opponents have connected on nearly 40% of their 3-point attempts. Both marks rank the Eagles among the bottom 50 in the country.
• Coppin State is riding a 10-game losing streak. Of those 10 losses, 3 have come in overtime.

So How Much Does Iowa State Win By?

We've seen the Cyclones sleepwalk through these types of contests time and time again and they may do that again tonight, but it likely won't matter. Coppin State is that bad. If you're looking for Steve Prohm to empty the bench early, I wouldn't be so sure it's going to happen. For starters, this team hasn't played for a little more than a week and will likely need to shake some rust off. More importantly, I'm guessing that Prohm is going to use this game as an opportunity to get Deonte Burton as many minutes as possible with the starters.

Burton has played a total of 31 minutes in his two games since becoming eligible, but look for him to see at least 20+ tonight. Burton's bench mate, Hallice Cooke, will likely also see extended time tonight as Prohm looks to solidify what little bench depth he has. Simeon Carter and Jordan Ashton will see action, but don't confuse that floor time as preparation for building the bench as Prohm has noted that Iowa State will exclusively use a 7-man rotation throughout the conference season, barring some type of disaster (knock on wood).

Iowa State has played two games against teams ranked 300th or worse according to Ken Pomeroy's ratings, notching a 42-point win against Chicago State back on November 16th and earning an uninspired, 14-point win against Arkansas Pine Bluff on December 13th.

I would imagine tonight's game will probably fall somewhere in between as the Cyclones turn their focus to Oklahoma on Saturday.

Iowa State 87 - Coppin State 62

Game Notes

Tip: 7:00 p.m. CST

TV/Webcast: Cyclones.TV (last game of the year on Cyclones.TV actually)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network

Cyclones.com Game Notes: Available here