Are you ready to rumble, ISU?

This Sunday, we’ll have the game of games. Yes, at Hilton Coliseum, our very own Iowa State Cyclones will take on the Jayskunks, er, Jayhawks of Kansas, in front of a national television audience.

But the question you’re all asking is: who will win? Let’s cut to the chase: our ‘Clones will be triumphant once again. How can they win? Let’s take a look.

1) They must contain Raef LaFrentz.

LaFrentz, Kansas’s big stud, is averaging 18 points and 8.8 rebounds a game this season, including the 16 points he scored when Kansas beat us in Lawrence 80-67 on Jan. 13. He must be stopped, no questions asked. Kelvin “Swat” Cato and Kenny Pratt have to do the job and keep him contained and not let him go crazy on the Hilton floor.

2) They must make free throws.

This is a basic fundamental of team basketball. Throughout the season, the Cyclones have been plagued by not-so-great shooting from the charity stripe. Fortunately, stingy defense and decent field shooting have saved the day. Cato and Pratt, the two guys going to the line the most, have shot 57.1% and 59.4%, respectively. In other words, the free throws must be made if they have any hopes of beating the Jayskunks (Sorry, I can’t help it).

3) They must avoid too many mistakes.

A no-brainer here. The only reason I mention this is that the Jayskunk starters all shoot at least 70 percent from the free-throw line. Thus, stupid mistakes like dumb fouls must be avoided. The last thing we need is someone like LaFrentz or Jacque Vaughn beating us on the line. Also, and perhaps this is a little nervousness looking ahead to this Sunday’s game, a few passes were thrown into strange places throughout the course of Wednesday night’s game against Baylor. The Cyclones will have to be super sharp this time around, especially with Kansas pumped after their double-overtime loss at Missouri on Tuesday night.

4) They should use the crowd to their advantage.

Big advantage for the Cyclones here. “Hilton Magic” is alive and well, and the place will be a-rockin’ this Sunday in front of the national television audience. This could be the loudest Hilton Coliseum has been in years, possibly its entire history. And, the crowd, save for a few Kansas fans brave and/or stupid enough to be in Ames that day, will yelling for the CYCLONES. It will definitely be something to see and something that should be used to drown out the Jayskunks.

Finally, we have the injury report. First of all, for the Jayskunks, hotshot forward Scot Pollard is out for this game with a broken foot. Too bad for the pep band, who won’t be able to heckle him for whatever (looks, mutton chops, skills, etc.) I feel for you guys.

As for the Cyclones, they should be just about back to full strength. Superstar guard Dedric Willoughby is back in full form after his hamstring injury (occurring against Kansas of all teams) and Shawn Bankhead doesn’t seem to be showing any signs of the back injury he sustained against Texas A&M last Saturday.

It’s time to rock. GO CYCLONES!

Rob Daniel is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Zion, Ill.