Cyclone challenge

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BYU’s men’s basketball team is off to Ames, IA tomorrow for its first official away game facing Big XII foe Iowa State. The Cyclones bring an 11-game homecourt winning streak to Saturday’s match-up, and BYU Senior Guard Craig Cusick knows a win won’t come easily.

“Iowa State’s a real talented team, an athletic team. We’ve played a couple of those teams already, like Florida State, Notre Dame,” said Cusick.

The Cyclones are 4-0 all-time against the Cougars, but their last battle was in December 2000. ISU knows how to play well against WCC teams, boasting a 10-1 all-time record against the conference.

“We’re ready to go. I mean, it’s going to be a real challenge. They just got beat twice over the weekend by two really good teams. So, it’ll be a battle,” said Head Coach Dave Rose.

Coming into the game ranked 2nd nationally in rebounding, Iowa State knows how to grab the boards. Offensively, the Cyclones average over 80 ppg, but where ISU can really hurt the Cougars is their depth. The team is getting nearly 50% of its points off the bench.

“We just need to be extra focused going into the game, specifically on the defensive end, I think… (We need to) make sure that we’re ready to get stops and to defend guys that are maybe more athletic, but I think that as a team as a whole, we’re excited for that opportunity.”

While the Cougars haven’t played the Cyclones in 12 years, Senior Will Clyburn will be a familiar face. He played against BYU twice during the 2010-11 season as a Runnin’ Ute before he transfered to ISU. Now he’s their leading scorer.

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