Texas Longhorns Basketball: Iowa State Preview

About Iowa State

The once dormant basketball program has been awakened by coach and former ISU player Fred Hoiberg. When Hoiberg was hired, the Iowa State program was reeling. Coach Greg McDermott left the Cyclones to take over as head coach of the Creighton Bluejays. While a successful college basketball program, Creighton at the time was a mid major program. The Cyclones had to feel undervalued as a program at that time. Then Fred Hoiberg came in and swiftly changed the culture of Cyclones basketball. With the help of some key transfers, Coach Hoiberg has turned Iowa State into a Big 12 title contender.

Best Player - DeAndre Kane

Hoiberg is a master at getting his transfers to perform at a high level and DeAndre Kane is no exception. At Marshall, he was the leading scorer for the Thundering Herd but had challenges in working with the current head coach and was ultimately dismissed from the team. Hoiberg saw an opportunity to make the Cyclones better and he did. Kane is averaging 16.8 PPG and is the unquestioned leader of this Iowa State team. If the Longhorns want to win, they must keep DeAndre Kane from scoring a lot of points.

Prediction

The Cyclones have lost two straight in Big 12 play. They also played on Monday night which means they have had all week to think about this game. Iowa State will be focused and looking to play their best game. The Longhorns will be looking to get another signature win that they can point to on their resume and say “we are an NCAA Tournament team.” Texas will need 9 or 10 Big 12 wins to earn a berth in the tournament, including a couple of wins against the “Top 4” in the Big 12.  Today is a perfect opportunity to get one. Cameron Ridley must have a big game but the Longhorns guards must hit the open jumpers to pull off the win. Setting the tempo in this game will be important and Texas will need to get it going early.

The Longhorns need this win and I think they get it.

Longhorns win 72-68