Iowa State Trounces Mississippi Valley State, 110-74

Game one is done. The over reactions are ready and boy oh boy do we have them.

Right from the tip the Cyclones came out hot and didn’t look back once.

With a line up of Nixon, Bolton, Haliburton, Young and Jacobson, Cyclone nation got their first look at a team with a lot of questions surrounding it.

Leading the charge tonight and looking the most like the player everyone expected him to be was Tyrese Haliburton. From his ability to create off the dribble, running the pick and roll and even heads up defense.

Tyrese showed exactly why he was a preseason All Big 12 selection. He would end the game with 14 points, 14 assists, 7 rebounds, 6 steals and 1 block, just for good measure.

Not to be out down in the starting line up were Rasir Bolton and Mike Jacobson. Jacobson would finish the game as the leading scorer by pouring in 20 points to go with his 8 rebounds. Rasir had an opening night of 9 points, 5 assists, 6 rebounds.

Coming off the bench and looking stellar doing it were George Conditt (10 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist) and freshman Tre Jackson (11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist).

Back in the starting line up after being sidelined by an injury a year ago was the ever steady Solomon Young. Aside from bringing a much needed anchor defensively to a team that missed it last season, Solo would go on to have 12 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists to go along with his 2 blocks.

Tonight also marked the first look that Cyclone Nation got to see freshman Caleb Grill take to the court. Grill would go a steady 3-5 from the floor, with 7 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in his minutes.

Despite the questions surrounding this team coming into the first match up, Iowa State looked like like a team that flowed well in transition and also had a steady balance of half court offense mixed with a good run and gun attitude.

Even though the Clones shot 13-35 from the arc (surprising many with the abundance of attempts) they still managed to shoot over 50% as a team and cause 15 turnovers as a squad. Free throw shooting was still a bit of an issue as the Cyclones only managed to hit 63% from the stripe, but that should develop as the cobwebs shake off.

For a first look, this team appeared ready to exceed expectations. The Cyclones would go on to finish out the game with a win and a final score of 110-74.