50 plus will cheer ISU’s Tyrus McGee in trip home

AMES - Iowa State's Tyrus McGee will perform in front of a personal cheering section of 50 or so in Saturday's 5 p.m. Big 12 game at Oklahoma.

His most ardent supporter will be his mother, Wilma -and that in and of itself could prove troublesome for the youthful Sooners (13-8, 3-6).

“Tyrus, he'll step up,” said Cyclone coach Fred Hoiberg, whose team (16-6, 6-3) seeks its third road win of the season. “He did it the first time we played (Oklahoma) State when all his friends were watching on national TV. He lives for that moment. In fact, his (community college) coach told me when his mom's in the building, expect Tyrus to go for about 30.”

This game will be on national TV, too - ESPN2 - so any of McGee's Stringtown, Okla., compatriots who weren't able to use the tickets he collected from teammates, can cheer from home, which is about a 45-minute drive from Norman.

“Everyone's coming,” said McGee, who's shooting a team-best 44.8 percent from 3-point range.

So are the heightened expectations, which were lofty to start the season, but now approach stratospheric levels.

That's where hopes for a possible berth in the NCAA Tournament reside for a program that hasn't experienced March Madness since 2005.

“Getting there's the hardest part,” said Cyclone forward Royce White, who hit his first career game-winning shot in Tuesday's 72-70 comeback triumph over Kansas State at home. “Staying focused on that, I think, is what we're doing now.”

For good reason.

ISU plays three of its next four games on the road.

The Sooners - who swept the season series with the talented Wildcats - feature one of the league's purest scorers, Steven Pledger.

He racked up 38 points in a Hilton Magic-quelling 82-76 overtime win last season in Ames.

“They've also got two bigs that can both stretch you out and shoot it,” Hoiberg said. “It's going to be a very tough challenge.”

Confident execution of the game plan against Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger's complex sets will be key.

Over-confidence doesn't appear to be an even fleeting concern.

“They're well coached like every other team in this conference,” White said. “You've got to have your hard hat on.”

McGee likes to put his on late at night, when he meets up with teammate and two-time Michigan State Final Foul veteran Chris Allen at the Sukup Basketball Complex.

“We shoot for a while, then we play one-on-one, two dribble, stuff like that,” McGee said.

It's a mutually beneficial arrangement, Allen said.

“And we're both competitors, so we're just not going to let each other score,” said Allen, who sparked the Cyclones' rally from a 14-point deficit against Kansas State with 12 second-half points. “It gets pretty heated in here.”

PALO UPDATE: ISU guard Bubu Palo should be out of the cast surrounding his injured right wrist in about a week, Hoiberg said. Another week of rehab will follow, he added.

UP ‘N ALLEN: Cyclone senior guard Chris Allen said some games he'll need to score a lot. Others, not so much. So he's focusing on doing “everything” when he's on the floor - with one simple goal in mind. “Winning is me,” the former Michigan State star said. “Wherever I go, that's all I want to do.” And that leads to another goal. “Get to the tournament, get to the Final Four,” Allen said. “You get to the Final Four, you're one game away. That's how I look at it.”