Cyclones face 14th-ranked Michigan Saturday

AMES - Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg's Michigan memories trace back to the Wolverines' once-celebrated and eventually embattled Fab Five.

Hoiberg, then a Cyclone sophomore not yet dubbed “The Mayor,” met the ultra-talented group in 1992 at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

“It was a fun atmosphere, it wasn't a fun game,” said Hoiberg, who leads ISU (5-2) into Ann Arbor to face the No. 14 Wolverines (5-2) in Saturday's 11 a.m. game at Crisler Arena. “We got it handed to us. It was a back to back - we played at home and got into Detroit at about three in the morning.”

That Johnny Orr-led Cyclone team fell 94-72 that day, but ended up notching 20 wins and reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Where this season's ISU team ends up is anyone's guess.

But the Cyclones' most recent nonconference loss - Wednesday's 69-62 home setback to Northern Iowa - offered plenty of humbling learning opportunities.

“It's a process and of course you're going to have to grow and grow and grow,” said ISU transfer guard Chris Allen, who went 2-0 at Ann Arbor while playing for Michigan State. “It's still early. ... We've just got to find way to cut down on mistakes instead of trying to be perfect. When you try to be perfect that's when you mess up even more.”

The Cyclones' loss to the Panthers revealed imperfections on both ends of the floor.

ISU shot just 4 of 18 from 3-point range and allowed UNI to sink 50 percent of its field goal tries in the second half - largely on open looks.

“Offensively I thought we played pretty poorly and defensively we were even worse,” Cyclone guard Scott Christopherson said.

A win Saturday could help ease the discomfort caused by Wednesday's performance, as well as an earlier defeat at Drake.

“The loss (to the Panthers) didn't really kill our confidence, it's just going to make us come around better as a team,” said guard Tyrus McGee, who entered Wednesday shooting 59 percent from 3-point territory, but went 0-4 from beyond the arc against UNI.

Better defense, clear communication and fortified resolve will be required.

Michigan's coming off an ACC/Big Ten Challenge loss at Virginia, so will be equally amped up.

“It's what you want,” Hoiberg said. “You want to try to come back and play against a team that's going to challenge you. These guys are a very sound team. They run a lot of stuff. We're just going to have to go out there and battle, compete. That's the No. 1 thing. If we do that, hopefully we'll have a chance at the end of the game.”