Cyclones hope to blow past visiting Jaguars

Dec 14, 2014 - 3:49 PM Ames, IA (SportsNetwork.com) - Fresh off a win over a bitter, in-state rival on the road, the 14th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones return to Hilton Coliseum to tangle with the Jaguars of Southern University on Sunday evening.

Southern brings a disappointing 2-7 record into this contest, and the team is coming off an 85-57 loss at Minnesota on Wednesday night. As a result, the Jaguars fell to 0-4 on the road, but they will return home for their next game when they host Champion Baptist College on Tuesday. Southern's two wins have come against inferior foes in LSU-Alexandria (76-65) and Dillard (68-55).

Iowa State took on rival Iowa on Friday night, and the Cyclones claimed their biggest win ever in Iowa City as they prevailed in a 90-75 final. ISU improved to 7-0 this season when leading at the half, and the team is seeking its 26th straight home victory over a non-conference opponent in the regular season in Sunday's contest.

This bout marks only the third meeting between these two teams, with Iowa State having won the first two. The Cyclones are 20-0 all-time against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference,

Poor defense and carelessness with the basketball led to Southern's 28-point loss at Minnesota earlier in the week, as the team allowed the Golden Gophers to shoot 54.7 percent from the field, which included them draining 7-of-13 3- point tries, while the Jaguars committed 20 turnovers. Adrian Rodgers scored 18 points to pace Southern in the setback, while Trelun Banks finished with 15. Christopher Hyder was on the court for a total of 27 minutes, but he failed to score a single point, although he did manage to dish out nine assists. The Jags were badly outscored at the foul line, 20-4.

Despite putting up a meager 58.7 ppg, Southern has three players currently averaging double figures in the scoring column. Even though he comes off the bench, Tre Lynch leads the way with 12.8 ppg, while starters Rodgers and Banks contribute 10.4 ppg apiece. The Jags are shooting just 39.3 percent from the field, which includes a dismal 25 percent effort from beyond the arc. At the other end, foes are netting 38.2 percent of their long-range launches.

With the game tied at 33-33 late in the first half, Iowa State scored 26 of the next 28 points to pull away from the Hawkeyes are earn its seventh win in eight tries this season. Only seven players saw action for the Cyclones at Iowa, and five of them scored in double digits, led by Naz Long with 21 points. Abdel Nader added 19, Georges Niang 16, Monte Morris 14 and Dustin Hogue logged a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Assists were also plentiful in the game, as ISU recorded 22 helpers on 34 field goals, seven of which were credited to Niang, six to Morris and five to Long. Iowa was held to 39.4 percent field goal efficiency.

All five starters are averaging double figures in scoring for coach Fred Hoiberg's club, with Niang leading the way with 17.8 ppg. Bryce Dejean-Jones is hot on his heels with 17.1 ppg, and both players do a solid job on the boards as well with a combined 13.4 rpg. Iowa State is cranking out 84.4 ppg thanks to shooting efforts that see 49.9 percent of all field goal attempts find the bottom of the net, which includes a 36.9 percent showing from downtown. Furthermore, the Cyclones average 19 apg, while sitting at +3.4 in turnover margin.