Mackey to Hilton: Hostility toward Hawkeye men resumes Thursday in Ames

Mettle Testing Week continues for the Iowa men’s basketball team Thursday, and the Hawkeyes need to be much better than they were Monday.

Iowa was dominated at No. 4 Purdue Monday, 87-68. All-America center Zach Edey and his Boilermaker teammates put the Hawkeyes in an early hole and kept making it deeper, leading by as much as 35 points in the second half.

Returning to Iowa and temporarily escaping Big Ten play would normally be a tonic to rebuild the Hawkeyes’ confidence, but not when it’s Ames and the opponent is Iowa State.

Unless, that is, the 5-3 Hawkeyes’ play in hothouse Hilton Coliseum Thursday (6:30 p.m., ESPNU) bears no resemblance to the one they played Monday at madhouse Mackey Arena.

Unlike Purdue, the Cyclones (6-2) don’t have a 7-foot-4 National Player of the Year. They do, however, have a sophomore guard from Ames who is coming off a triple-double on the road.

Tamin Lipsey had 15 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in ISU’s 99-80 win at DePaul last Friday. Entering Wednesday’s games, he was 13th in the nation in assists per game (6.3) and tied for eighth in steals per game (3.0).

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound guard also leads the Cyclones in points and rebounds per game with 15.1 and 6.5, respectively.

“I think he's got a complete skill set,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said Wednesday. “I think he's got an aggressive mindset and he's got a great feel. I think they use them taking full advantage of his talent.

“He’s made a concerted effort to affect the game at both ends of the floor, so you’ve got to give him credit for that.”

Lipsey has a good running mate in the backcourt in junior Keshon Gilbert. The UNLV transfer averages 14.8 points, 3.6 assists and 2.0 steals.

“I think they've done a good job with transfers, and getting them to play together,” McCaffery said. “I think that's been impressive. That's not always easy to do.”

The T.J. Otzelberger formula for success at Iowa State has been defense-first. That, more than anything, is why the Cyclones went to NCAA tournaments in their first two years with Otzelberger as the head coach.

Through Tuesday’s games, ISU was fifth in the nation in steals with 11.8 per game.

“They buy in defensively and they share the ball,” said McCaffery. “They’ve got a bunch of guys that have been around, that know what they're doing. They play together. They've got a good combination of size and speed.

“So, you know, that's why they're good. And that's why it's always a challenge.”

The Hawkeyes lacked shining moments at Purdue.

“There were a lot of things that we didn't do well,” McCaffery said. “Our ball screen defense wasn't great. You know, our post defense is obviously going to be complicated with (Edey), but we've got to rebound better.

“Our offense has to flow a little bit better, but it obviously helps you to get a few more stops.”

At least Iowa’s 6-foot-10 freshman, Owen Freeman (9.8 ppg) won’t be surrendering a half-foot of height to any opposing player as he did with Edey. But he’s entering an environment like few others in college basketball.

Freeman and six others in Iowa’s 10-player rotation have never played in an Iowa-Iowa State game in Ames. They’ll learn in pregame warmups that the student section in Hilton is every bit as loud and unwelcoming as the one at Purdue.

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