Between Iowa State and Drake, the last three years have been shaded in blue and white.

Iowa State  beat the Bulldogs in 2005, but since then Drake has defeated Iowa State three consecutive years, including a 66–63 win in Ames last season.

The 2–0 Cyclones hit the road for the first time this season on Tuesday and head to Des Moines for the annual in-state face off in hopes of ending the their three year losing drought, as well as keeping their record unscathed.   

“As a coach you always wonder how your team is going to react on the road for the first time, but we have enough experience that can help us,” said coach Greg McDermott at his weekly news conference on Monday.

Iowa State has had only a one day turnaround after defeating Chicago State 72–50 Sunday night in the second game of the 2009–’10 season.Despite the discrepancy in the final score, the Cyclones struggled at times against the Cougars.

Star forwards Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap went a combined 4-for-23 from the field and the athletically superior Cyclones took the majority of the first half to finally start breaking away from Chicago State.

Scott Christopherson, who was Iowa State’s leading scorer on Sunday night with 12 points, said after the game that it is critical that the Cyclones keep their focus in the short layoff before taking on the Bulldogs.

“I think we’ve got to understand that it is a great thing to get a win tonight, but at the same time if we go out on Tuesday and play bad and get a loss then nobody is really going to feel good about this win,” Christopherson said. “I think it is going to come down to having a great day in practice and everyone being mentally into it.”

Drake may be without the services of standout senior guard Josh Young, who is yet to play this season because of a hip injury.

Young, Drake’s career scoring leader and Missouri Valley Conference preseason first-team honoree, is listed as questionable, but McDermott said his team is preparing as if Young will be ready to go.   

“I don’t really have any idea how severe his injury is, but I know Josh well enough that if he can play he will play,” McDermott said. “Our expectation is that he will play.”

Without the services of Young, the Bulldogs fell short of IUPUI in their season opener on Saturday, losing to the Jaguars 88–82. Six Bulldog players scored eight or more points, including Ryan Wedel’s 23.

“I had a chance to watch their game against IUPUI and if they can score 82 points without Josh Young in the lineup than that is a pretty impressive statistic. It just tells you that they have a lot of kids that can shoot the basket,” McDermott said.

Injury update— Junior forward LaRon Dendy is currently nursing a sprained right knee.

Dendy suffered the injury after Scott Christopherson took a charge in practice and fell backwards onto Dendy’s knee. 

The coaching staff is not sure when Dendy will return, but McDermott hopes the forward can be ready to go for next week’s Chicago Invitational.

“I think it is too early to tell. It really depends on how his knee reacts,” McDermott said. “The good news is that his knee is stable and there hasn’t been a lot of swelling. I know that LaRon wants to be back as quickly as possible. A week from now we will have a much better idea.”

The 6-foot-9-inch junior college transfer made his Cyclone debut last Friday against Idaho State, recording 16 points and seven rebounds.

Jamie Vanderbeken is still in the midst of the healing process from a stress fracture in his foot he suffered earlier this year. He has seen limited time in Iowa State’s first two games, but in the time he did see on the court against Chicago State Vanderbeken racked up 11 points and five rebounds.

“Jamie Vanderbeken is not ready to probably play more than 14, 15 minutes in a game,” McDermott said. “The minutes he did play last were very efficient, very effective.” 

Cyclones sign junior college guard—

Iowa State announced Monday that junior college guard DeMarcus Phillips signed a letter of intent to play for the Cyclones next season.

Phillips, the 2008 Wisconsin high school player of the year, averaged 17.3 points and 5.1 assists in his freshman season at Marshalltown Communtiy College.

“He’s a combo guard we felt was too talented not to take,” McDermott said. “The opportunity was there and he had an interest in Iowa State. Both ends of the floor he brings a lot of toughness, a lot tenacity.” 

NBA All Star in attendance—

Utah Jazz All Star forward Carlos Boozer, who is the older brother of ISU junior guard Charles Boozer, was in attendance for Sunday’s game. Tonight was the first time in two years Boozer has been able to see his brother play. Charles saw 14 minutes on the court and notched four points and two rebounds.

“He’s come a long way, and, hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see him play a lot more this season,” Carlos said.

The Utah Jazz star said he flew in on Sunday and flew back to rejoin his teammates in Salt Lake City, Utah following the game.

Although the NBA season prevents him from always keeping current with the latest Cyclone news, Boozer had high praise for this year’s Cyclone squad.

“They’re going to have a great team. I haven’t had much of a chance to watch them play,” Boozer said. “But I hope they have the chance to be a contender.”

Boozer is in the start of his eighth season in the NBA and is averaging 17.6 points and 10.7 rebounds per game for the Jazz this season.