DECEMBER 12, 2014 – The 14th ranked Iowa State Cyclones land their largest victory ever in Carver Hawkeye Arena, surpassing the 13 point victory that they held in the venue in 1999. With a five point lead coming out of halftime the Cyclones would hit 10 of their next 11 shots, and Iowa would never sniff the lead again in that game. Abdel Nader and Naz Long both hit season highs in scoring, and Dustin Hogue had a season high in rebounds. As with any victory, it was a night for Cyclone Nation to be overjoyed.
Fast forward ten years. Iowa State has not won in CHA since that night on December 12. Because of this, the Cyclones are yet to even have consecutive wins over Iowa in that ten year span, even though over that time the Cyclones have been a considerably better team, with multiple runs to the sweet sixteen. The Hawkeyes have yet to accomplish that feat this century. But as much as postseason success is important, so is winning head to head against your rival, and Iowa State has thus far been unable to do that outside the friendly confines of Hilton Coliseum.
Tonight, Iowa State enters the game ranked third in the country, the highest that they have entered the Cy-Hawk game in AP poll history. The team is loaded with the kind of talent that can finally shatter the barrier that CHA has been on Iowa State’s schedule, returning Keshon Gilbert, Tamin Lipsey, Curtis Jones, and Milan Momcilovic from last year’s roster, as well as adding transfer talent Dishon Jackson, Joshua Jefferson, and Brandon Chatfield to improve the front court.
Iowa, on the other hand, is missing pieces that helped them to claim victories in past years. Replacing players like Luka Garza or Kris and Keegan Murray is a tall task, one that head coach Fran McCaffery has understandably not been able to complete. Barring career nights from Payton and Pryce Sandfort, Iowa likely just doesn’t have the bodies to keep up with the roster Iowa State’s throwing at them this year. The roster that T.J. Otzelberger has put together for the Cyclones is bigger, faster, stronger, and shoots better than what Iowa has. Iowa requires the same kind of magic that also happens to be their school’s primary color to win this game, and to keep the Carver Curse alive.
T.J. Otzelberger is currently 2-1 against Iowa, with the two wins being blowout victories in Hilton Coliseum, and the lone loss being a blowout by Iowa in CHA. Iowa State had one of the slowest starts, if not the slowest, of any game in the Otzelberger era, and by the time the Cyclones were finally scoring baskets the Hawkeyes were already able to start letting up on the gas. If the trend in this series is that the game won’t be close, there’s no reason to believe that Iowa will dominate this Iowa State squad. Iowa State is more experienced than they were two years ago, they bring better offense to the table, and most importantly, they bring something to prove.
Claiming the victory for Iowa State and ending the Carver Curse is obviously the top priority for the Cyclones, but the stakes for their respective conferences are high. The Big 12 carries an incredibly strong basketball pedigree, but the conference has underperformed in marquee non-conference games, with Baylor, Arizona, Houston, and Kansas all holding multiple losses already, and Iowa State losing on a buzzer beater to Auburn in the Maui Invitational. Claiming another power five win, even if it is only against Iowa, is a step in the right direction for the Big 12 to get itself back on track.
For Iowa, beating Iowa State would be its own miracle to celebrate, but for the Big Ten it would be a seismic boost for the strength of the conference, and would have a ripple effect on every conference not called the Big 12. If Iowa State were to be upset, all of the top brands in the Big 12 would have 2 non-conference losses and the Big 12 itself would enter conference play with a damaged reputation on the basketball court.
Iowa State also needs to continuously prove that they do belong at the top of the nation right now. The SEC continues to play incredibly strong ball and has been racking up marquee wins, a handful of which have been against the Big 12. Iowa State stands as the league’s lone representative among the top 5 schools in the nation. For the moment, the Cyclones carry the role of the league’s top contender, and if they want to retain that role they must win against Iowa tonight. Now that Big 12 competition has been shown to be slightly weaker than expected there will be less mulligans in conference play. Iowa is the biggest game left on Iowa State’s non-conference schedule.
Tonight is where the Cyclones must prove they belong at the top. Tonight is where the Cyclones prove they can compete on the road. Tonight the Cyclones hold their role as the best team in the Big 12. And tonight is where the Cyclones finally end the decade long Carver Curse.
