The ISU men’s basketball team is preparing to host its eighth annual Cyclone Challenge starting tonight at Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will face Western Illinois (1-3) in the second game at 8 p.m.

Binghamton (3-1) and Denver (2-2) make up the other teams in the Cyclone Challenge. The two will tip off at 5:30 p.m. tonight.

Iowa State is 13-1 in Cyclone Challenge history. The only blemish on their record came thanks to a San Jose State team that was coached by former Iowa State assistant Steve Barnes. Iowa State fell by a 64-62 margin.

The 3-0 Cyclones are coming off a 85-63 victory over Jackson State Monday night. Junior Jake Sullivan led all scorers in the game with 23 points, making all eight of his free-throw attempts.

Sullivan has started the season making all 13 of his free throws, moving his career average to 90 percent, a mark that is best in Iowa State and Big 12 history.

Balance has been the key to Iowa State’s victories, with five players scoring in double digits all three games. Newcomer Tim Barnes is averaging 12.7 points and seven assists per game while fellow junior college transfer Jackson Vroman is putting up 16 points and pulling down a team-high nine rebounds per game.

“I think obviously Barnes is a huge factor, but I think we have more guys that can score this year than we had last year,” Sullivan said. “Everyone on the floor can score. Everyone has improved their game — we have more threats.”

The Cyclones’ focus in practice this week has been keeping up the consistency. Head coach Larry Eustachy has expressed his disapproval that the team is playing in spurts and wants practices to improve in that aspect so it can carry over to the game.

“We’re just trying to play more consistently, I think, improving defensively,” Sullivan said about the team’s areas that need improvement. “We’ve been making practice harder, forcing us to concentrate longer in practice.”

After taking what Eustachy described as a step backwards after the Jackson State game, the team has continued to work on the basics in practice as well.

“It’s always defense and rebounding, continuously,” Vroman said. “Making sure we catch the ball and not rushing. We’ve had too many turnovers by the post the last couple games.”

Western Illinois has played in the Cyclone Challenge in 1998 and 2000, taking the Cyclones down to the wire before losing in overtime in 1998.

The Leathernecks have three starters averaging in double digits, with junior forward J.D. Summers leading the way at 13.2 points per game.

“They shoot the ball extremely well,” Sullivan said. “Our biggest weakness is taking people off the three line.”

Senior Luis Rivas is a solid big man for Western Illinois, averaging 10 points and eight rebounds a game.

“Their post is pretty crafty; they use a lot of fakes,” Vroman said. “It will be hard to stay out of foul trouble with these guys, we’ll have to stay down.”

Following the Cyclone Challenge, Iowa State will continue to face better and better teams, beginning with a nationally televised game Tuesday against Boston College.

“We’re going to take each game one at a time, not look forward,” Vroman said. “We didn’t win this tournament last year so we want to make sure we get it this year.”