Fennelly grateful there's no conflict of interests for Cyclones fans Thursday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Another sellout crowd of 14,376 cheered the Iowa State men's basketball team to victory over then-No. 9 Baylor last Saturday at Hilton Coliseum.

And few in attendance wanted the Cyclone men to win more than women's coach Bill Fennelly - for more than one good reason.

If the ISU men had lost that game, fans would have had to choose between watching them open the Big 12 tournament Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. at the Sprint Center and cheering on Fennelly's women against Kansas State at 11 a.m. at Municipal Auditorium.

Instead, the men play sixth-seeded Texas at 8:30 p.m., while the fourth-seeded Cyclone women (18-11) attempt to complete a three-game season sweep of fifth-seeded Kansas State (18-12) several hours earlier.

“Now our fans can get up, come down Thursday, watch us play, get loosened up in the afternoon, then watch the guys that night,” Fennelly said. “It would have been hard for our fans because we are probably one of the unique teams in the Big 12. We have a great cross-over fan base. Our fans have always loved going down there, the whole Hilton South stuff, but now they get to support two teams and I think that's exciting.”

So is playing the defensive-minded Wildcats for a third time.

“They know us, we know them,” Fennelly said. “So hopefully we can continue to play the way we've been playing and give ourselves a chance.”

ISU won nine of its final 12 regular season games to overcome an 0-5 start and finish fourth in the league.

“We've put ourselves in a really good spot now to go out there and show everyone that after our start we can come back and be the great team that we know we are,” Cyclone guard Brynn Williamson said.

It's uncertain whether ISU must do anything more to prove itself in order to secure an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament for the sixth consecutive year.

Beating Kansas State again would certainly bolster the resume.

Brittany Chambers leads the Wildcats is scoring at 14.3 points per game, but the Cyclones held her to four points in last Wednesday's 57-33 win.

Jalana Childs (14.1 points) and Tasha Dickey (10.1 points) also are potent K-State scorers.

“We kind of know what to expect just having played them twice already,” said ISU forward Hallie Christofferson, who averaged seven rebounds against the Wildcats in the regular season. “It will be in a neutral environment, so that will be different.”

Technically, that's true.

But fans have one more chance to make it “Hilton South” before the women's tournament migrates to Oklahoma City next season.

“It is the way it is right now,” said Fennelly, who vehemently disagrees with the decision to move the event from Kansas City. “We're going to enjoy this year, hopefully.”