Don’t forget the cell phone charger, a toothbrush and a change of socks, because it’s time for a road trip.

For the first time this young season, the ISU men’s basketball team will leave the comfy confines of Hilton Coliseum and travel to Bradley for a 7 p.m. tip-off Wednesday.

For the seven newcomers that will travel to Peoria, Ill., it will be the first time playing in a Cyclone uniform in front of a hostile crowd and the first interruption from the day-to-day life in Ames the new players have grown accustomed to.

“Often times young guys will treat these road trips as a vacation instead of a business trip, and it’s our job as coaches to make sure they understand the task at hand . and to try to remain focused,” said coach Greg McDermott. “Obviously your daily routine is changed being on the road – they’re not in classes all day, we’ve got a lot of hotel room time.”

Getting acclimated to playing on the road is just one issue Iowa State will have to deal with when it takes on an experienced Braves team. After struggling over the weekend with the quick three-guard lineups both Winston Salem State and Centenary employed, things don’t get any easier this time around.

Bradley is led by All-Missouri Valley point guard Daniel Ruffin, the NCAA active leader in assists, and Jeremy Crouch, a 6-foot-5-inch senior who was the co-leader in 3-point shooting percentage last year, draining exactly 50 percent of his shots from behind the arc.

Containing those two will be the key to a Cyclones’ victory.

“It will be a challenge for our inexperienced guards to slow [Ruffin] down and at the same time, get to Crouch and make his looks difficult,” McDermott said.

Although it will ultimately come down to the guard play, the ISU frontcourt can do a lot to help teammates deal with the expected Bradley on-the-ball pressure.

“We just got to try and see what we can to do to relieve some of that pressure from our point guards,” said senior forward Rahshon Clark.

To counter that pressure, the Cyclones will try to take advantage of the size advantage they have down low. With the return of senior Jiri Hubalek, who admitted he isn’t back to 100 percent after fracturing a bone in his foot, the continued growth of freshman Craig Brackins, and the growing comfort levels of the post players off the bench, the Cyclones field a formidable front line.

“We’ll always attempt to try to get [the ball] inside, and that’s a little easier said than done,” McDermott said. “Obviously we feel like we have an advantage inside on most teams that we play, and we need to try to take the best advantage of that we can.”

Iowa State will most likely again be without their leading returning scorer and rebounder, sophomore Wesley Johnson. Johnson missed the first two games after spraining his ankle last week. His status, even for practice, is still day to day, and McDermott expects it to be a game-time decision as to whether he’ll suit up against the Braves.

The Cyclones were able to get two wins over the weekend without him, but they definitely missed Johnson’s presence. A 6-foot-7-inch guard who can handle the ball, shoot from the outside, post up down low and play lockdown defense can create a lot of problems for opponents. Until he returns, junior Sean Haluska and freshman Charles Boozer will have to fill in.

“Wesley is a great player, so it’s hard to replace him,” Hubalek said. “But we found a way to get it done.”