Marching into battle

Well, with just under an hour until tipoff in the ISU men's game, there is quite a buzz around Oklahoma City.

The Cyclones just completely their pep rally outside..unfortunately it wasn't half as entertaining as yesterday's women's rally. Can't wait to see what today's women's rally is going to be like, but more on that game later.

As we near the opening tip in the Men's Big 12 Tournament, No. 8 Iowa State is set to face No. 9 Oklahoma in a virtual road game. Seriously, there are more Oklahoma fans here than in Norman, I think. Not sure how that's possible.

I have a busy day myself, as I'll be blogging pretty much all day, and cranking out some articles for the print edition of the newspaper. While the men take center stage right now, it's hard to not be thinking about the ISU women's game tonight at 6 p.m. Sure, maybe they're a longshot to make it to the Championship game, but they do have a chance, and eight other teams would love to have a chance right now. More on that game later...seriously.

So here's what Iowa State needs to do in order to have a chance against Oklahoma.

1) Get off to a fast start -- So many times this season the Cyclones have started out incredibly slow. In a hostile environment against a team like Oklahoma, the Cyclones can't afford to start slow and let the Sooners' momentum get out of control.

2) Avoid stupid shots and take the ball inside -- Jiri Hubalek is instrumental to the Cyclones' success, or lackthereof, today. He needs to take charge in the middle and put as many shots down as he can early. Especially if Taylor has an off day.

3) Get the ball into Wesley Johnson's hands -- This kid is special already, and he's going to be something else next year. He's only a freshman. Let Johnson take control of the game.

I'm not sure how Iowa State is going to fare -- I guess it depends on which team shows up. If this team puts together 40 good minutes of basketball, which it has yet to do this season, they have a shot. Let's wait and see.

Well, that's all I have right now, tipoff is in 45 minutes. Be sure to check back during the game for updates every 10 minutes.