The much anticipated sophomore campaign is about to begin.

Second-year head coach Wayne Morgan will lead the ISU men’s basketball team against Bemidji State at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday, opening the Cyclones’ exhibition season.

Morgan and sophomore guards Will Blalock and Curtis Stinson — a preseason all-Big 12 first team selection — are ready to build on their NIT experience from one year ago.

Stinson led the team last season with a 16.2 points-per-game average. He also led the team in assists and was third on the squad in rebounding on his way to being named Big 12 Freshman of the Year.

Blalock was second on the team in assists, while dumping in 7.5 points per game. Morgan led the team to a 20-win season, the second-best win total for a first-year Cyclone coach.

Although Iowa State lost senior stalwarts Jake Sullivan and Jackson Vroman to graduation, the Cyclones have gathered a strong recruiting class to help boost their uptempo offense.

“We have a lot of skillful players, people who can run the floor,” senior Damion Staple said. “That’s going to be our game.”

The run-and-gun offense Iowa State will employ was put into play by Morgan last season, but with the addition of the newcomers, the Cyclones will look to push the ball even more.

“We play a run and get it and go,” Staple said.

Stinson, Blalock and senior center Jared Homan have proven they can handle the up-and-down style of basketball; now the key to Iowa State’s season will be the success of the newcomers.

“We have a bunch of really athletic guys who are willing to run the floor for lay-ups — pushing the ball to get it up the court,” Homan said. “I think that fits into a lot of peoples’ games.”

Homan and the rest of the team will look to outhustle opponents for easy baskets.

“Our main goal every game is to beat everyone down the court to get as many lay-ups as possible,” Homan said. “If teams want to play zone on us, we want to beat them down the court and get lay-ups.”

Iowa State is 33-2 in exhibition games. Iowa State should use this year’s contest to help continue to work out the kinks.

“We just want to go out there and work on the stuff we have been practicing,” Homan said. “We have a chance to get out and play as a team for the first time against someone else besides ourselves.”

Iowa State did get a chance to test itself earlier in the year, taking part in a three-game exhibition tour in Mexico.

Homan said the trip and the time on court together helped the team get an early feel for what it could do and gave the five newcomers a chance to play with the returning team.

“I think they’re fitting into the program nice, and I think they will be able to contribute right away,” Homan said. “It got us a fresh start on the basic offense.”