Six points, two boards, 0 assists — Craig Brackins’ line against Drake in 2007. The Cyclones lost by 35.

That performance came just a game after he recorded a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double in a win over Oregon State.

Sound familiar?

Brackins is again coming off a double-double against Oregon State, and this time the Cyclones are hoping for a more consistent effort against Drake on Tuesday.

“We need a consistent effort every single night,” said coach Greg McDermott of Brackins’ play. “That’s a lot of weight to put on a young person’s shoulders, but he understands it. He’s at a place in his development where he is more prepared to handle that than he has ever been.”

And the Cyclones have a lot to be encouraged about. Brackins’ double-double against Oregon State was his second straight, and the first time in his career that he posted two back-to-back. That game, coupled with his 32-point, 16-rebound effort against UNI, finished off a week that McDermott called the most consistent in Brackins’ career, and earned him Big 12 Player of the Week.

For the first half Saturday, however, it looked as if Brackins would be very inconsistent. Brackins missed his first four shots and failed to score until the 5-minute 50-second mark in first half.

Brackins said after the game that he was rushing it, and was feeling impatient. McDermott attributed Brackins’ slow start to his performance against UNI.

“He is still a young player and he’s coming off a game where every time he touched the ball good things happened,” McDermott said after the game. “So you want to make something happen for your team when you catch it.”

Despite the low point total, McDermott said he was pleased with the way Brackins stayed active in the game, made corrections and didn’t let his poor shooting start affect the other areas of his game.

“Once he settled down and read the defense and understood what’s there and what’s not there, he made some good plays,” McDermott said. “He is starting to see things a little bit better. He is unselfish enough that if he has to score points to help us win that’s great, but if there are other things he can do he is willing to do that.”

Brackins did just that, and, as a result, played solid defense and pulled down 10 boards, which brought his two game total to 26.

“I knew it was just going to flow or, if not, just go out and grab as many rebounds as possible and just try and help out with defense or rebounding or something,” Brackins said. “I’m not going to let that bother me, if I can’t score. I know I can probably do something else to help the team.”

Simply by standing on the court, Brackins is helping the team. Because he has showed he can be a presence in the lane, teams like Oregon State have been attempting to double-team him. That makes it all the more important for Brackins not to force his offensive opportunities.

“I understand if I’m not getting the ball either somebody is creeping over or somebody is helping off,” Brackins said. “So I kind of get excited when they double because that leaves Lucca [Staiger], Wes [Eikmeier] or Sean [Haluska] open for a three. And when they get going, they are going to have to stop one or the other.”

That’s the predicament the Cyclones hope to put Drake in Tuesday night, but Brackins’ play will go a long way toward the Cyclones’ success.

“We can’t really expect a double-double every game, that would be pushing it a little bit,” McDermott said. “At least he is thinking about it, knows it’s possible, and knows what he has to do to do that.”