Hilton Magic will be in full effect Wednesday, as the annual Iowa State-Iowa game will be in front of the first sellout Hilton Coliseum crowd of the season.

“I would absolutely rather play this [game] here than anywhere else,” ISU head coach Wayne Morgan said. “The crowd will help us and give us energy.”

This will be Morgan’s first taste of the rivalry as head coach, but he said he knows the magnitude of the game.

“I know it’s a really big game and I know it’s an intrastate rivalry,” Morgan said. “There’s a lot of feelings here between the fans from both schools. It’s a game that everybody looks forward to.”

The Hawkeyes, 9-5 (2-2 Big Ten), will have to deal with more than playing on the road against a bitter rival, as they will be without their 6-foot-11 center Jared Reiner. Reiner is out indefinitely due to a stress fracture in his right foot.

Both Morgan and junior center Jared Homan said the loss of Reiner will be an advantage for the 10-3 (2-1 Big 12) Cyclones, but Iowa does have other players who are capable of picking up the slack.

“They’re not as big without Reiner,” Morgan said. “They’ll have to rely a little more on their perimeter guys like Brody Boyd, Pierre Pierce and Glen Worley.”

“He is [their best big man], but I think they’ve got the depth to replace him,” Homan said. “He’s a good player, and they’re going to miss him; and hopefully we can take advantage of that.”

One such player who will have to shoulder some of Reiner’s loss will be Pierce, a sophomore guard. Pierce heads into Wednesday’s game averaging 16.9 points per game, fourth overall in the Big Ten.

“Pierre Pierce is a good player,” Morgan said. “Obviously, he’s one of their best players. He does a lot of things in terms of his individual athletic ability. He takes the ball to the basket and has the ability to create his own shot. He adds another dimension to their team.”

Senior guard Jake Sullivan agreed.

“He’s a guy that we’ll have to contain,” Sullivan said. “He can single-handedly win a game, so he’ll be a big focus as we prepare.”

The Cyclones have injury problems of their own. Freshman forward Reggie George missed last week’s game at Colorado due to a concussion, but he will likely return to the lineup against Iowa, Morgan said.

Morgan said Iowa’s strong transition defense may not allow his team to run like they have in many of their previous games.

“Good teams try to take away your ability to fastbreak and play up tempo,” Morgan said. “They have demonstrated that they’re a good team, and we may have to play more halfcourt.”

After a lopsided road loss Saturday at Colorado, Homan said defense will be the key in beating the Hawkeyes.

“We’ve got to play our game and defend and rebound,” Homan said.

“We didn’t play very well at Colorado. If we have that kind of defensive intensity, we’ll probably lose to Iowa. We need to rebound and really push the ball, he said. “

Tipoff against the Hawkeyes is set for 7 p.m.