Cyclones welcome Hawks to Hilton

AMES — Iowa State and Iowa meet for the 77th time in men’s basketball on Thursday night inside Hilton Coliseum.

Tip off is set for 6:30 p.m. The contest will be televised on ESPNU.

The Cyclones are 6-2 overall and return home for the first time in four games. Iowa State started the season with four consecutive victories on its own court.

The Hawkeyes (5-3 overall), meanwhile, are looking to rebound from an 87-68 Big Ten setback on Monday night at No. 4 Purdue.

Head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s squad is coming off a 99-80 win over DePaul, with Trey King leading the way by scoring 24 points.

Tamin Lipsey, a former Ames all-stater, is averaging 15.1 points and 6.5 rebounds for ISU. He paces the squad in assists, steals and minutes played. Milan Momcilovic is making 2.6 three-point baskets per contest.

Iowa counters with Valparaiso transfer Ben Krikke (18.4 points, 60.4 percent field goal shooting) and Payton Sandfort (13.6 points).

All three of the Hawkeyes’ losses to date — Creighton, Oklahoma and Purdue — have been to opponents currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Iowa is averaging 87.9 points per contest.

The Cyclones, who are starting a five-game homestand, have prevailed nine times against Iowa in the last 10 meetings at Hilton. Iowa State is favored by seven points against the Hawks.

The rivals have met 24 times since 2000, with both programs prevailing 12 times.