No. 7 Iowa State opens with early test against Colorado

AMES - NCAA tournament heartbreak, a coaching change and a preseason Top 10 ranking all within the last eight months could be enough to make a lot of teams' collective head spin.

No. 7 Iowa State has embraced every phase of its roller coaster off-season and is ready to take its first step of a new era against Colorado.

'It's great to finally get things rolling again,” said senior Georges Niang. 'It feels like we've been practicing for three months now. It's good to finally get out there and showcase what we've been working on this whole off-season.”

The Cyclones have never been short on personality and the preseason love for new coach Steve Prohm's squad has only amplified its confidence. A Final Four berth has been on the minds of ISU players the last couple seasons, but just as the loss to UAB in March showed, taking each step serious - without losing personality - has been key.

'(Prohm) always got a good bounce about himself and a swagger and says you've got to do everything like you're top-seven in the country,” Monte Morris said. 'That's waking up, going to class and just walking around. You know you're that good of a team and it'll translate to the floor.”

Tipoff between the Cyclones and Buffaloes in Sioux Falls, S.D. is at 4 p.m. and this will be one of the first games of the college basketball new year. The exposure is warmly welcomed by Iowa State. Many high major schools will begin the year against low or mid-major squads, but squaring off against a power-five school - and old Big 12 foe - is the immediate test the Cyclones wanted.

Josh Scott is a force in the CU frontcourt and averaged 14.5 points and 8.4 rebounds as a junior while shooting 54.4 percent from the field. An intensified effort from the Cyclones on defense through the off-season will get an early workout. Prohm said it will be an effort from post and perimeter players alike to slow the Buffaloes inside-outside game.

'We cannot let Scott just sit down there and have his way down there, or their other post guys,” Prohm said. 'They've got one of those other guys that can score down there.”

The Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls holds just 3,200 seats, but Prohm has seen many ISU fans make the investment to travel north.

Iowa State has the talent to make its first Final Four since 1944 and while it has plenty of reasons to believe it could get there, Prohm has been first in line to say it won't happen without consistency night in and night out.

'Four years ago, Iowa State probably didn't get everybody's best game,” Prohm said. 'That's just reality. The job Fred (Hoiberg) did here, putting them back on the map from a national perspective, you're going to get everybody's best game.”

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