Iowa still has a commanding lead in the series but Iowa State has dominated recent history and the 25th ranked Cyclones are heavily favored to make it seven of eight when the teams collide in Iowa City tonight (Thursday night), beginning at 7 o’clock. The Hawkeyes are 5-5 and in their five losses gave up an average of 91 points. Fran McCaffery needs to find a way to slow down coach Steve Prohm’s Cyclone squad that is averaging more than 85 points per game.

A concern for Iowa is inexperienced point guard play against Iowa State star Monte Morris. McCaffery says the Cyclones are vastly improved defensively over last year.
He calls this the best non-conference rivalry he has been a part of.

Prohm says the Cyclones need to contain Iowa senior Peter Jok, who is averaging just under 24 points per game. This is Prohm’s second year at ISU but it did not take him long to discover what this rivalry means.

The Cyclones are 6-2. The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series 43-26.

(Learfield Sports)