Men’s Basketball: Extended CyHawk Preview

Last year Iowa State and Iowa squared off in a game with similar implications to this season. The Cyclones began the season 8-0 and turned heads during their preseason tournament en route to a 12-0 start before their first loss of the year in January. The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, began their year 7-2 — their only losses coming at the hands of Big 10 opponents Purdue and Illinois.

This year, Iowa State sports a 7-1 record after turning heads (again) at a preseason tournament while the Hawks are 6-1, their only blemish coming at the behest of Jamie Dixon’s TCU Horned Frogs. The Cyclones still own one of the best defenses in the country (13th via KenPom), Iowa still has a Murray brother (Kris) and…