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Iowa State Cyclones: Cyclones, Iowa, Drake and Northern Iowa Converge for the Big 4 Classic

By Doug Winkey

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This Saturday is the annual Iowa Big 4 Classic in Des Moines. It will feature Iowa State taking on Northern Iowa and Drake squaring off against Iowa.

Game 1 – This game features the Drake Bulldogs (4-6) against the Iowa Hawkeyes (7-3). Iowa is coming off of a heartbreaking loss to Iowa State in Ames last Thursday, while Drake is mired in a three-game losing streak. The records indicate that Iowa has a clear advantage, but these two teams are actually very similar.

Both teams play eight or more players at least 10 minutes per game. Jarrod Uthoff leads Iowa in scoring at 19.6 points per game.  His offensive mirror is Drake’s Reed Timmer at 19 points. Mike Gesell directs the Hawkeyes with seven assists per contest and will contend with Graham Woodward, who dishes 3.6 dimes each game.  Both teams shoot around 47% from the field and at least 40% from deep.

The big matchup in this game will be Drake’s big duo of Jacob Enevold Jenson and Kale Abrahamson battling Uthoff and Adam Woodbury for Iowa.

Each duo has a true 7-footer and a dynamic forward that does some of everything.

Jan 25, 2015; Wichita, KS, USA; Drake Bulldogs center Jacob Enevold Jenson (11) is defended by Wichita State Shockers center Bush Wamukota (21) during the Bulldogs

The matchup clearly leans towards Iowa, but Drake will play tougher than most expect in this intrastate battle.

Prediction: 80-75 Iowa Hawkeyes in a game that is competitive most of the way.

Game 2 – The second game pits the Northern Iowa Panthers(6-3) versus the undefeated Iowa State Cyclones (9-0). Iowa State recently had a solid, if uninspiring victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

UNI is coming off a big loss to New Mexico, but still has a marquee win over North Carolina on its résumé and will be eager to take out two Top-5 teams in one season.

Stylistically, these teams are pretty different. The Panthers play nine guys over 10 minutes, while Iowa State only runs seven. To add to Iowa State’s rotation burden is the recent announcement that Naz Mitrou-Long will miss the rest of the season to recover from off-season hip surgery.

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To offset the loss, the Cyclones do add Deonte Burton to the active roster now that his transfer wait period expires on Saturday. He will add depth in the front court and could be a big slasher and finisher as opposed to the Mitrou-Long’s outside stroke.

UNI has four guards leading the way: Wes Washpun, Matt Bohannon, Paul Jesperson, and Jeremy Morgan. None stand taller than 6’6″, but all shoot well from the field and could cause some troubles for a Cyclone back-court in flux.

On the other side, Iowa State still has Georges Niang, Monte Morris, and Jameel McKay leading the unbeaten charge. Aside from the headliners, watch the Cyclones’ Hallice Cooke to get extra minutes and maybe even JUCO transfer Jordan Ashton to pop in a few times.

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The matchup to watch here is easily UNI’s Wes Washpun against Morris. Both are extremely good guards that score, distribute, and rebound. Morris gets the big edge because of his supporting cast, but don’t sleep on Washpun to do his fair bit in the upset bid.

Prediction: Expect a close first half, but Iowa State’s size and overall experience will result in an 80-69 victory.

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