No. 17 Cyclones want to tough out last game at TCU Saturday

AMES - Monte Morris sat down to FaceTime with his mom following Iowa State's win against Oklahoma, just like he does after every game, sporting a cut near his eye.

That cut was all that the worried Latonia Morris could focus on in that moment.

'She was like ‘Oh they've got my baby's eye messed up,'” Monte recalled. 'You know how she is.”

Morris has taken his share of lumps in No. 17 Iowa State's last two games, but has hung in to make plays down the stretch. He'll try to do the same thing when the Cyclones take on TCU in the regular-season finale in Fort Worth, Texas on Saturday.

Between the contact Morris has taken against Kansas State and Oklahoma near the end of games, the sophomore point guard has combined to play 68-of-80 minutes and score 34 points. He's also dished out a combined eight assists to three turnovers.

Morris fell on his tailbone and tweaked his neck after finishing through contact against the Wildcats, and took a hit to the face while slashing through the lane against the Sooners. He said it was probably the most physical two-game stretch he's played in awhile for the Cyclones (21-8, 11-6), getting Morris' teammates to take notice.

'I know what it feels like to bleed from your eye,” junior Georges Niang, who took a hit to the eye in last year's Big 12 tournament, joked. 'Credit to him, he's a tough kid. Those Michigan kids never lay down for anybody so I expect that from Monte.”

The resiliency shown by Morris isn't lost on Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg, either. Hoiberg remembered the collision against Kansas State where Morris finished the layup through contact, and after slowly rising to his feet, knocked down the free throw.

'He's just one of those wiry, strong kids. He never gets tired,” Hoiberg said. 'There's just certain guys that are blessed with that. I know I wasn't. I know I had to work my tail off to get in decent enough shape to play eight minutes in a row. Monte can go all day.”

Closing out the regular season against the Horned Frogs (17-13, 4-13) will put Morris and the rest of the Cyclones to the test. TCU is on a three-game home winning streak, beating Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech in that span.

TCU has played its season at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center this season due to renovations at its home arena. Capacity at the venue is 4,750, so using momentum from the 21-point comeback against Oklahoma could be a source of inspiration to play in a smaller environment.

'It is a little bit unique playing in a small gym like that so hopefully our guys will respond well,” Hoiberg said. 'I know we'll have fans. We've always had great fans that have shown up and supported us in Fort Worth.”

Tipoff between Iowa State and TCU is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNEWS.