ISU coach Fred Hoiberg’s tenure has been defined by a combination of speed and endurance, which has perpetuated a steady rise in Iowa State’s performance and earned Hoiberg the opportunity to gallop past the 100-win marker faster than any coach in Iowa State history.

Hoiberg’s century mark can be attained with a victory against Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 31 in Ames. 

On the eve of 2015, as many college students gather in warm homes to celebrate with family or brave December’s final, chilly gasp to congregate rowdily in various establishments of the night, ISU players will storm their home court of Hilton Coliseum in an effort to propel their coach to the first major milestone of his young career.

It is a holiday trade-off senior Dustin Hogue said he and his teammates are happy to make.

“To be able to be the team to get him his…100th win and help him to be one of the youngest coaches to do that, that is a big accomplishment for us,” Hogue said.

If the Cyclones are able to ring in the new year by defeating the 1-11 Delta Devils, it will have taken Hoiberg only 148 tips to post a triple-digit number in the win column, which equates to a winning percentage of better than 67.5 percent.

That feat would be all the more impressive considering the fifth year coach only counted 16 victories during his first year on the job, matching the 16 losses his team suffered.

Senior Georges Niang implied jokingly that recruiting better players helped Hoiberg accumulate 23 wins in both his second and third campaigns, as well as 28 victories during Iowa State’s Sweet 16 run last season.

“I want to give all the credit to us. I do not know what [Hoiberg] does around here,” Niang laughed. “He really took [this program] from rock bottom up to the top, so I could not be happier to be here and play for a guy like that and be a part of something special.”

Hoiberg deflected attention from himself and his impending accomplishment by saying that his concern is simply one of continued improvement, which will help his team gain not only the 100th win of his career but also number 101 and beyond.

He then perpetuated Niang’s tone of good-natured jest while addressing the potentially negative impact of his players’ 10-day vacation from formal competition.

“It was great. I should have left them home for a few more days. I enjoyed it more that way,” Hoiberg joked. “I remember that first day back…you have got some rust to shake off. The energy was great [in practice], I will say that.”

Niang said that the energy will keep up and that the distraction of a New Year’s Eve game will not be an obstacle in Iowa State’s quest to elevate Hoiberg to win number 100.

“I am going to go home and go to sleep anyway. We have to fly out to New York within the next couple days, so it is just another day, another game,” Niang said. “We come in and prep for every team like they are the number one team in the country.”

The opening tip for Iowa State’s contest versus Mississippi Valley State is set for 6:00 p.m.