It’s Cy-Hawk night! Both teams have played great in spurts throughout the season, but have also showed some serious down side. Which teams are going to come out firing tonight remains to be seen. Let’s take a dive into the Cy-Hawk game!

Last Time Out

Iowa State took down Seton Hall on Sunday evening in their second matchup with the Pirates in a matter of ten days. Iowa State was able to come away with the victory, 76-66. Iowa State was led by George Conditt, Rasir Bolton and Tyrese Haliburton who all poured in 17 points for the Cyclones. Conditt continued his dominance on defense, picking up another five blocks.

About The Team Out East

The Team Out East is 7-3 on the season. In their last game, TOE defeated Minnesota 72-52. Joe Wieskamp led TOE in scoring with 23 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the field. Jordan Bohannon, who will play tonight for the final time this season before redshirting, led the Hawkeyes in assists with 10.

Much like Iowa State, they have had their ups and downs, but TOE has taken down Syracuse and Texas Tech recently to steer the ship in the right way for themselves behind one of the better offenses in the country (4th in AdjO on KenPom). However, they’re sitting at just 63rd in tempo (in contrast to Iowa State’s 8th), so they’ll likely try to slow the game down and use Luka Garza to grind out points in the paint on long possessions.

Another oncoming threat may be the emergence of CJ Frederick. While they still do have Joe Weiskamp and company, the redshirt freshman is leading TOE in 3 point percentage, effective field goal percentage, and a few others. Garza is still the first option, but Fredrick and Bohannon will need to be accounted for.

This will be the 73rd meeting on the hardwood for TOE and Iowa State. The home team has won 14 of the last 16 meetings in this series, with Iowa State’s 2010 and 2014 wins in Iowa City being the exceptions.

Opponent Player To Watch

Luka Garza has been a man on a mission as of late. The junior exploded four 44 points against Michigan and then dropped another 23 points in the win over Minnesota. If Garza is imposing his will down low, it could be a long night for the Cyclones, as we already tend to struggle with post play as it is. Steve Prohm is going to have to find a post rotation to combat Garza inside that also keeps these guys out of foul trouble. George Conditt and his shot blocking need to make another appearance tonight.

What Will Happen

There are a lot of things in this one that make you a bit nervous. Garza playing well, and Bohannon playing his last game this year and adding extra juice and on top. Each one of these clubs need the win to boost the resume’s as they work toward March. The formula is simple really, Iowa State can’t shoot the ball to start the game like they did against Seton Hall on Sunday. TOE is not going to be as favorable as Seton Hall was, especially considering how efficient they are on the offensive end of the floor. The good-shooting Cyclones are going to have to show up and get out and run on TOE to eliminate the big factor in this one.

KenPom likes Iowa State in this one by 3, which closely matches Vegas’ current spread of Iowa State -4. It’s a toss up for me. This is a good TOE basketball team and they’ll be ready to go tonight, but I’m taking Hilton to overcome in this one.

Iowa State- 74

TOE- 73

Pick Three

1- One of Iowa State’s bigs foul out

2- Bohannon plays lights out

3- Conditt blocks 3 shots

Game Notes

The Matchup: Iowa State (6-3, 0-0 Big 12) vs. TOE (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten)

Where: Ames, Iowa - Hilton Coliseum (14,384)

When: Thursday, Dec. 12, 7 p.m. (CST)

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/TuneIn Radio Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

TV: ESPN2 Talent: Jason Benetti (PxP), Dan Dakich (Analyst)

Webcast: WATCHESPN

Sirius/XM/Internet: 84/84/84 (internet)

Live Stats: Cyclonestats.com