Hilton Magic

Well, I'm back just in time for the Cyclones game against UNI tomorrow. The Panthers are 1-1 with a win over Wayne State and a tough double OT loss at Cincinnati. They have quite a few of the same guys that made the NCAA tourney and nearly ended Georgia Tech's final four run in the first round. All five starters scored in double figures against Cincy. I still think ISU wins this by 10 or so as long as Stinson and Blalock come to play. It sounds like they turned in a bit of a lackluster performance in the Cyclone Challenge last week against some inferior competition. ISU holds a 33-6 edge in the all-time series but it always seems to be tough to go into the Dome and play well.

Jared Homan was Big 12 Player of the week after averaging 13.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks. He's 11 away from taking ISU's all-time block record from Kelvin Cato. Like Homan, Cato was a monster down low and set the record in his 2 years at ISU.

A few scores of interest tonight. Iowa won at Drake by 16 and scored 91 points. I watched the game on and off and Iowa looked pretty solid. I still think that will be ISU's toughest nonconference game but still very winnable. Benedict Haluska led Iowa with 21. Creighton squeaked by Xavier by 1 after blasting Mizzou earlier this year and the game against the Musketeers should be a tough one as well.