Cyclones riding the '3' in early season

AMES - Iowa State guard Tyrus McGee's been uncanny from the 3-point arc ever since middle school.

Back then, he slung up shots from his hip. The form's perfect now - and the stats bear that out.

Entering Tuesday night's game against Northern Colorado, McGee, a junior college transfer, has misfired on just one of 10 3-point tries this season. Ninety percent? Not bad.

“Every game (at Cowley Community College in Kansas), I probably hit about four 3s a game for the last two years,” said McGee, who went 4-for-5 from long range in Sunday's 92-60 win over Western Carolina.

What makes him so accurate? Repetition.

“We put up a lot of shots,” McGee said of extra shooting sessions at the Sukup Basketball Complex with teammate Chris Allen. “Usually we come here at about 10 o'clock. We get done at close to 12 - 11:45 or something like that. We put up as many shots as we can. Do a whole bunch of one-on-one stuff.”

McGee's just one of several ISU players capable of swishing multiple threes each night. Teammate Chris Babb drained all five of his 3-point attempts Sunday and the Cyclones (2-1) are 27 of 59 from beyond the arc (45.8 percent).

ISU shot 77 percent overall in the second half Sunday and hopes to stay hot on both ends of the floor against the Bears (0-3).

“I told them, ‘Guys, if we get stops, if we don't take the ball out of the net every time down the floor, we're going to flow and we're going to get into our offense sooner and we're going to get things rolling,'” Cyclone Coach Fred Hoiberg said of a shored-up second-half defensive effort against Western Carolina. “And we did. That's exactly what happened."

Northern Colorado (0-3)at Iowa State (2-1)

Where: Hilton Coliseum, Ames

Tipoff: 7 p.m.

TV: Mediacom Connections

Radio: KGYM-AM (1600)

Scouting report: Technically, this is a second round game of the South Padre Island Invitational ... ISU caught fire in the second half of Sunday's 92-60 win over Western Carolina, shooting 77 percent. Chris Babb drilled all five of his 3-point shots and led the Cyclones with 18 points. Tyrus McGee went 4-for-5 from long range ... ISU is 2-0 all-time against the Bears ... Cyclone big man Royce White is averaging 21 points per game.

Next for ISU: 7:30 p.m., Friday, vs. Providence at the South Padre Island Invitational