Pairings for Saturday and Sunday’s National Duals were released today.

For the regional at Ames, tickets are available for a general admission adult price of $25 with a $15 price for youth high school age and under. Fans can order tickets online at cyclones.com, in person at the athletics ticket office and by phone at (515) 294-1816. Doors open to the general public at 10 a.m.

IOWA STATE REGIONAL

SUNDAY AT AMES

11 a.m. — Northern Iowa (5) vs. Virginia Tech (4)

11 a.m. — Iowa State (3) vs. Wisconsin (6)

1:00 — Iowa (1) vs. Northern Iowa or Virginia Tech

1:00 — Oregon State (2) vs. Iowa State or Wisconsin

3:00 — Consolation

3:00 — Championship

=====

OKLAHOMA STATE REGIONAL

SUNDAY AT STILLWATER, OKLA.

1:00 — Chattanooga (5) vs. Wyoming (4)

1:00 — Ohio State (3) vs. Boise State (6)

3:00 — Oklahoma State (1) vs. Chattanooga or Wyoming

3:00 — Nebraska (2) vs. Ohio State or Boise State

5:00 — Consolation

5:00 — Championship

=====

CORNELL REGIONAL

SATURDAY AT ITHICA, N.Y.

9 a.m. — Purdue (5) vs. Central Michigan (4)

9 a.m. — Oklahoma (3) vs. American (6)

11 a.m. — Cornell (1) vs. Purdue or Central Michigan

11 a.m.– Illinois (2) vs. Oklahoma or American

1:00 — Consolation

1:00 — Championship

=====

RUTGERS REGIONAL

SUNDAY AT PISCATAWAY, N.J.

1:00 –Rutgers (5) vs. Kent State (4)

1:00 –Missouri (3) vs. Cal-Poly (6)

3:00 –Minnesota (1) vs. Rutgers or Kent State

3:00 –Michigan (2) vs. Missouri or Cal-Poly

5:00 — Consolation

5:00 — Championship

Box score:Iowa State 65, Missouri 52

Poppens’ 11 points and 10 rebounds — her Big 12 Conference-leading 11th double-double this season — and Mansfield’s 5-of-8 3-point accuracy helped Iowa State improve to 5-6 in league play. The Cyclones started 0-5 in the conference.

Iowa State was hot early, using three straight jumpers by Anna Prins and two buckets by Poppens during a 16-2 run to jump out to a 21-7 advantage with 8:06 left in the first half.

The Cyclones made 6-of-10 3-point attempts in the first half and held Missouri to 25 percent shooting from the field to lead at halftime 39-22.

Mansfield’s trio of second-half 3s kept Missouri at bay, as the Tigers could not get closer than 12 points after intermission. Mansfield, who went 4-for-4 at the free-throw line and has made her last 12 free throws, added a career-high eight rebounds.

Chassidy Cole recorded a career-high 11 rebounds for the Cyclones, who are 14-8 overall. Prins and Nikki Moody both added nine points.

Iowa State was only 19-for-49 from the field but made 18 of 20 free throws. The Cyclones limited Missouri to 21-of-64 field goals.

The Cyclones outrebounded the Tigers 44-33 and have now outrebounded 15 of its 21 opponents this season. Iowa State is 11-4 in those games.

The Cyclones, who have won nine of their last 10 games against Missouri, play next at Texas Tech on Sunday in Lubbock, Texas at 1:30. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

Kyley Simmons and BreAnna Brock’s 14 points each led Missouri.

The Tigers, who are coached by former Iowa State assistant coach Robin Pingeton (2001-03), fall to 10-12 and 0-11 in the Big 12.

Iowa State’s scores and schedule

Stillwater, Okla. -- The closer Chris Allen got to the basket Tuesday night, the clearer he saw visions of making a game-tying layup.

“Once I turned the corner, it seemed like I had a good shot,” Allen said.

Something happened as Iowa State tried to stop a 16-game losing streak at Oklahoma State — something in the form of the long arm of 6-foot-7 Le’Bryan Nash, whose defensive gem preserved the Cowboys’ 69-67 win before a crowd announced to be 9,365 at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

Nash, a true freshman, broke the 67-all tie with 4.7 seconds remaining on a mid-range jumper as the shot clock neared zeros.

Then he made the defensive play of the game, slapping Allen’s layup out of bounds and once again keeping the Cyclones winless here since 1988.

“I saw two guys running at me,” Allen said. “I figured if I’m going to go out like this, I’m going to the hole — maybe I’ll get a foul or a wide open shot.”

Box score: Oklahoma State 69, Iowa State 67

All he got was the brunt of Nash’s second blocked shot of the game.

“It was clean,” Allen said. “He was making plays like that all game. Great athlete, great player.

“However you want to look at it, he won the game for them.”

Iowa State’s records fell to 7-4 in the Big 12 Conference and 17-7 overall heading into Saturday’s 3 p.m. game against Texas A&M at Hilton Coliseum.

“We didn’t make the plays necessary to win the game,” said Scott Christopherson, whose buzzer-beating 3-point bank shot from 30 feet allowed the Cyclones to beat the Cowboys in Ames. “We had too many stretches where we played poorly.”

Allen led Iowa State with 22 points, including 17 in the second half. Royce White, who saw mostly one-on-one defending, scored 15 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and distributed seven assists.

“We missed some point-blank shots,” said White, who had four of Iowa State’s nine turnovers. “I couldn’t keep hold of the ball — uncharacteristic mishandlings by me.”

He also missed two free throws with 1:27 to play, his team trailing 67-65.

“Two big free throws,” he said. “All of it accounts to not winning a one-possession game. If we’d have lost by 15 points, it’d be different.”

The score was tied eight times. There were nine lead changes before Oklahoma State turned a one-point deficit into an eight-point lead with 4:56 remaining.

“We needed to find a way to string together some stops,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We just weren’t able to get that done. The last five minutes, we couldn’t get a stop when we needed it most.”

Allen made consecutive 3-point baskets as the Cyclones pulled within 67-65, and then White atoned for his two free throw misses by sinking a pair that tied the score with 39.3 seconds to play.

The Cowboys (5-6, 12-12) ran down the clock before Nash’s jumper, and then Iowa State called timeout.

Chris Babb inbounded the ball to Allen, who dribbled quickly toward Iowa State’s basket.

“We executed our play,” Hoiberg said. “We got the big guy guarding Chris.

“(Allen) was the hot guy at the time. We wanted to get the ball in his hand, to let him make a play.”

The goal was a layup — at worst, fouled in the act of attempting a layup.

“Nash is a heck of a player,” Hoiberg said.

And now Iowa State has to regroup after its three-game conference winning streak ended.

“This was a tough one,” Allen said. “We were probably a (victory) away from the Top 25 — a game away from first place.

“It just didn’t work out for us.”

Iowa State's scores and schedule

Dick Vitale is chipping away at his bucket list.

“This has been a great year,” said Vitale, 72, the fast-talking coach turned broadcasting icon.

Vitale met both President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict XVI, and scratched them off his bucket list.

Who knows? Maybe Hilton Coliseum will join the president and the pope.

“Hilton Magic, they’re going wild there,” Vitale said. “That’s one of the places I haven’t been to. That’s on my bucket list. If they keep winning, I’ll be there.”

Vitale’s absence from Hilton has rankled a Cyclone fan or two. Some blame his tense battles with former Cyclone coach Johnny Orr when Vitale was coaching at Detroit and Orr at Michigan. There was that famous 2002 moment, still on YouTube, when Orr told Vitale and the world on ESPN that “we kicked your ass,” in reference to the Wolverines’ 86-81 second-round NCAA victory over Vitale’s Detroit team in 1977.

Vitale glows about Cyclone coach Fred Hoiberg.

“Hoiberg’s got a nice team, huh?” Vitale said. “He’s the new Father Flanagan of coaching. He’s become the new Jerry Tarkanian.”

Father Edward J. Flanagan started Boys Town with this motto: “There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.”

Tarkanian built Nevada-Las Vegas into a national power. One reason for his success was taking transfers and other high-risk players other schools passed on.

Hoiberg’s team has become a national story because it was built on a foundation of transfers including Royce White, Chris Allen, Anthony Booker, Chris Babb and Scott Christopherson. Two more, Will Clyburn and Korie Lucious, will become eligible next season.

“The way it’s going, the Mayor is going to become the governor, baby,” Vitale said. “Maybe even the president.”

DID YOU HEAR?

Former Iowa State coach Larry Eustachy has got it going at Southern Mississippi.

The Golden Eagles snapped an 18-game losing streak to Memphis last week, 75-72.

“This was a long time coming,” he said.

Southern Mississippi, leading Conference USA with a 7-1 record, is 20-3 overall. Eustachy joined M.K. Turk and Lee Floyd, father of former Iowa State coach Tim Floyd, as the only men to have four 20-win seasons at the school. The Golden Eagles are 11-0 at home this season.

Eustachy coached Iowa State for five seasons, winning back-to-back Big 12 Conference titles in 2000 and 2001.

3-POINTERS

Iowa recruit Adam Woodbury passed Landon Scott as Sioux City East’s career scoring leader. Woodbury has 1,313 points.

Linn-Mar guard and North Carolina signee Marcus Paige was elected to play in the Jordan Brand Classic April 14 at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, N.C.

Charlie Spoonhour, who passed away last week, is best remembered for his coaching stints at Missouri State, St. Louis and Nevada-Las Vegas. But Spoon also coached at Southeastern of Burlington for six seasons, starting in 1975. He took the Blackhawks to three national tournaments and is a National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Famer.

IOWA CONNECTION

Former Iowa State guard Marcus Brister is averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 rebounds at Southeast Missouri.

CONFERENCE CHATTER

Iowa State and Iowa have combined to win 30 games, including 12 conference games and five conference road games. Only once in the previous four seasons, 2008-09, have they reached the 30-win mark. You’ve got to go back to the 2006-07 season to find at least 12 conference wins, and the 2005-06 season to equal five conference road victories.

Aaron Fuller left Iowa following the 2009-10 season after averaging 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds for a 10-21 team. The junior forward is now averaging 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds for a Southern California team that is 6-18 overall and 1-10 in conference play.

Ben Simons, right, was 11-of-22 from the field in Drake’s triple-overtime victory over Wichita State Jan. 28. The Bulldogs, palying without Simons Saturday, were 12-of-44 from the field in a 57-39 loss to Missouri State.

5 SECONDS LEFT

:05 -- King James Version carries Northern Iowa past Creighton.

:04 -- Get out your dancing shoes, Iowa State.

:03 -- Welcome back to Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Tom Davis.

:02 -- Ben Jacobson-Greg McDermott postgame hug said it all.

:01 -- Fred Hoiberg: Big 12 coach of the year.

Stillwater, Okla. -- Big 12 men’s basketball teams are asking themselves a Royce White-inspired, head-scratcher of a question: Double-team one of the league’s most talented players, or play man-to-man?

Maybe Oklahoma State will even try to zone the Iowa State men’s basketball team during Tuesday’s 6 p.m. game at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

But with all of Iowa State’s 3-point shooting potential — that creates an unlikely, unpleasant option, as well.

“We’ve got to be prepared for everything,” said coach Fred Hoiberg, whose team has seen a lot of different defenses in recent games. “We’re never sure how teams are going to guard us.”

Big 12 Conference standings

The most recent failed attempt to put multi-dimensional White in a straight jacket was Oklahoma’s double-teaming last Saturday.

The strategy limited the 6-foot-8, 270-pound sophomore to just one field-goal attempt — a successful dunk with just more than a minute to play — but it left open the Cyclones’ stable of long-range shooters.

The result: Iowa State 77, Oklahoma 70. Game story and photos

Now the defense is in Oklahoma State’s court — in a city where Iowa State has lost 16 games in a row since a 97-88 win in 1988.

“There’s not just one way to guard him,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. “It’s a tough task for anybody.”

Iowa State beat the Oklahoma State 71-68 on Jan. 18 in Ames on Scott Christopherson’s 30-foot bank-shot buzzer-beater, a game in which White scored 17 points, grabbed five rebounds and collected six assists. Game story and photos

“We had two or three different guys trying to guard him,” Ford said. “We doubled him at times, and at times we didn’t.

“There’s not just one thing you can do to stop him. He can hurt you in so many ways.”

Kansas and Kansas State thought so much of their players that they mostly defended White one-on-one during a four-day stretch last week.

The Cyclones won both games as White combined for 40 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists — while his long-range teammates combined for 18-of-27 shooting beyond the arc.

Saturday, he found himself the middle of a Royce White sandwich, and the shooters responded by making half of their 30 3-point attempts.

“It was different,” White said of the beginning-to-end double-team. “Coming into league play, we never anticipated that a lot of teams would double-team me, especially since it’s my first year playing in college.”

So they’ll be prepared for anything Tuesday night.

“We work on it every day,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We throw multiple defenders at him, and sometimes we defend him in practice with smaller guys.

“We’re trying to make it as realistic for him as possible.”

So how would White defend Iowa State?

“Honestly, I don’t know how to guard us,” he said. “I don’t even know where to begin to tell you.”

Iowa State's statistics | Oklahoma State's statistics

=== TUESDAY'S GAME ===

WHO: Iowa State (17-6 overall, 7-3 in Big 12) at Oklahoma State (11-12, 4-6)

WHERE: Gallagher-Iba Arena

TIPOFF: 6 p.m.

TV/RADIO: ESPN2 / Cyclone Radio Network 100.3-FM in Des Moines.

STAT LEADERS: For Iowa State — Royce White 13.5 ppg, White 9.3 rpg, White 4.6 apg; For Oklahoma State — Keiton Page 14.3 ppg, Markel Brown 5.3 rpg, Page 2.2 apg.

ABOUT THE CYCLONES: Iowa State needed a buzzer-beating 3-point 30-foot bank shot from Scott Christopherson for a 71-68 victory in Ames. That capped a rally from which the Cyclones trailed by six points with just more than 3 minutes to play.

ABOUT THE COWBOYS: Their three-point percentage defense is
30.1 percent, third-best in school history. Oklahoma State has held 15 opponents this season under 30 percent from behind the arc.

WHAT TO WATCH: Cowboys guard Keiton Page has averaged 17.3 points during the last three games against the Cyclones, including 21 when the teams met last month in Ames.

IRVING, Texas - Iowa State forward http://www.cyclones.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=46670&SPID=4253&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=10700&ATCLID=3758478&Q_SEASON=2011">Chelsea Poppens was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season. Poppens posted double-doubles in each of Iowa State's home wins over Oklahoma State and Texas last week.

The junior had one of the best games of her Iowa State career Saturday in Iowa State's 71-56 win over Texas. Poppens went off for a career-high 27 points, 20 coming in the second half, on 9-of-11 shooting, and recorded 10 rebounds in only 24 minutes of action. Poppens started the week out with 11 points and 16 rebounds in the Cyclones' 73-52 win over the Cowgirls of Oklahoma State.

The Aplington, Iowa native has been on a tear as of late, averaging 22.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game in her last four contests, leading the Cyclones to a 3-1 record in that stretch.

Oklahoma's Sharane Campbell earned Big 12 Freshman of the Week honors.

Iowa State’s scores and schedule

“Another year never hurts, and furthermore, this is his first year playing college basketball,” said Rose, who called Iowa State’s 77-70 win against Oklahoma for ESPN2 Saturday. “Another year will solidify his game. He’ll be in the player of the year category next year, nationally, if he comes back.”

When asked two weeks ago about that, White said:

“I’m concentrating on this season. We can do something special. I’ll talk to coach after the season about the future. I’ll listen to what he has to say.”

White enters Tuesday’s 6 p.m. game at Oklahoma State as the only player in the nation to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals. Rose said White is not getting the national credit that he deserves.

“It’s always been baffling to me as a media member and a player, that not many teams get covered on a national basis,” said Rose, who played professionally for Indiana and Chicago after being a member of Michigan’s Fab Five. “That’s how it is. Royce is one of those players that I’m surprised people aren’t talking about on a daily basis as being one of the best players in the country.

“He’s the only player that leads his team in all those categories. What else does he have to do, drive the team to the game and carry the water bucket?

“It’s head-scratching to me.”

Rose said he wasn’t surprised when Hoiberg got into college coaching, and he won’t be surprised if he remains a college coach for a while.

“I think he’s happy doing what he’s doing right now,” Rose said of his former NBA teammate. “I see him being at Iowa State 15 or 20 years. He’s in a perfect situation for him. This is what he really wants.”

Rose played with Hoiberg at Indiana and Chicago.

“I played against him a lot of years before that,” said Rose, a Michigan native. “I played against him in AAU, and I remember playing against Iowa State when I was at Michigan.

“He’s one of the greatest knock-down shooters I’ve ever seen.”

Rose and Hoiberg have such a close bond that the Cyclones coach had Rose speak to his team Friday.

“The Mayor — what a great guy,” Rose said. “I started calling him the Mayor when I was playing against him, and you know what?

“It’s an election year.”

Norman, Okla. -- Big 12 Conference men’s basketball coaches are probably scratching their heads again, wondering just how to defend the suddenly surging Cyclones.

Last week, Kansas and Kansas State played man-to-man against Royce White -- and lost.

Saturday, Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger went with the 40-minute double-team strategy, and that didn’t work either, Iowa State winning 77-70 behind a record-setting 3-point shooting display at Lloyd Noble Center.

Box score: Iowa State 77, Oklahoma 70

“With the way they were playing Royce . . .that opened up the perimeter for everyone else,” said Scott Christopherson, one of many Iowa State players to take advantage of the Sooners’ two-on-one tactic against Iowa State’s top scorer.

It opened the perimeter to the tune of 15 3-point baskets, the Cyclones’ most against a Big 12 Conference opponent.

“I don’t expect us to make 15 every time Royce gets double-teamed, but when we get shots like we got, we’ll probably shoot pretty well,” Christopherson said.

Iowa State’s records improved to 17-6 overall and 7-3 in the conference heading into Tuesday’s 6 p.m. game at Oklahoma State.

The Cyclones are going there with newfound confidence in this state after breaking an 18-game losing streak against teams from Oklahoma – in Oklahoma, including seven in a row on the Sooners’ home court since 1996.

“Lon Kruger is one of the best coaches in the business,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said.”I have so much respect for him. I knew they would throw something at us.”

The 13-9, 3-7 Sooners double-teamed the 6-foot-8 White from start to finish, electing to leave one Iowa State wing player open, thus the Cyclones making 10 more 3-point baskets than 2-pointers.

“We wanted to give some help on White, of course, but we didn’t do a good job getting back out on the shooters,” Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. “We didn’t handle that as we needed to.”

Melvin Ejim led the winners with 21 points and Christopherson followed with 15. Christopherson, Chris Allen and Chris Babb combined for 10-of-19 from beyond the arc.

“Royce is so good throwing pin-point passes,” Christopherson said. “He can see over and around the double-team.”

Andrew Fitzgerald led Oklahoma with 27 points, Romero Osby added 17, and Steven Pledger 14.

“We did not defend their bigs well at all,” Hoiberg said.

Iowa State started quickly, making seven of its first 10 3-point attempts – five coming after nifty White assists.

He finished with seven assists, but could have had more had his teammates made open shots.

“Royce did terrific job getting the offense started,” Hoiberg said. “It wasn’t always his assist -- if you count hockey assists, he’d probably have 15 of them, by him being the first kick. That ball was just flying around the horn.”

It flew all right – 25 baskets from 19 assists.

“With all the ball movement we have and the shooters we have, it doesn’t matter if I score at all,” White said.

His first field-goal attempt was a doozie — an emphatic dunk with 1:37 remaining that provided the Cyclones a 73-67 lead.

Oklahoma cut its deficit to one possession 20 seconds later, but Iowa State players refused to be rattled before an announced crowd of just 7,055.

“I was very pleased with our poise down the stretch,” Hoiberg said. “We did a great job not forcing it -- not taking a bad shot and getting the ball into the right guy’s hands to make a play.”

Poppens also had 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes of play.

Saddled with three fouls, Poppens entered with 11:46 left and the Cyclones ahead only 40-38. The junior scored on a layin and sparked a 31-16 run by the Cyclones.

Box score: Iowa State 71, Texas 56

Iowa State point guard Lauren Mansfield provided a career-high 11 assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes.

Hallie Christofferson was 5-of-8 from 3-point range to score 17 points. The sophomore is 14-of-25 (.560) from beyond the arc in the last five Cyclone games.

The Cyclones (13-8 overall, 4-6 Big 12) trailed by seven early in the second half but got a lift from Anna Prins inside while Poppens remained on the bench.

A Prins bucket tied the score, then she provided a jumper that gave Iowa State the lead 40-38 with 12:01 left.

Prins finished the game with 11 points and four rebounds.

Then, Poppens returned and the Cyclones scored 10 straight points to take a 50-40 advantage with 8:25 to go.

Texas (13-9 overall, 3-7 Big 12) led 31-27 at the half thanks largely to a rebound advantage of 24-14 .

Yvonne Anderson led Texas with 19 points, including the Longhorns' first 12 points of the contest

Texas' Nneka Enemkpali was ejected from the game with 6:31 remaining on her second technical foul.

Iowa State forced a season-high 23 turnovers.

Iowa State plays at Missouri Wednesday in a 7 p.m. game that will be televised by Mediacom.

My Texas grandson recently urged this avid baseball fan (me) to get interested in football and basketball. I agreed to try.

I started with football. I'm learning the who, why and what of the game, and I like it! Then I decided to try basketball, and, oh my, that heart-stopping game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Kansas State Wildcats made me a believer. Now maybe wrestling? But boxing is out!

There are those who say they are depressed ... (but) their life is not meaningful or exciting. Iowa offers every opportunity to experience the very best of all the sports. I would encourage these depressed persons to choose a team in any sport. Follow that team faithfully. Learn the players’ names, and even the name of their coach. True, it can be heartbreaking when your team loses, but you can't contain your joy when they win! Then see if life, even in a small way, doesn't take that meaningful turn.

— Marlys W. Bixby, West Des Moines

Cundiff not in normal routine

The Ravens should have called time out to allow Billy Cundiff to have a normal pre-kick routine (in their AFC championship game loss to New England). The field goal kicking motion is a lot like a golf swing: stance, timing and wind conditions are all important factors. You'll never see a pro golfer sprint to hit his second shot on the 18th hole of the U.S. Open.

— Troy Andersen, Urbandale

Jim Knuth played Division I football. Now he watches two of his daughters play college sports.

Knuth ran a wishbone offense as quarterback for West Marshall of State Center, where he was a four-sport athlete and graduated in 1979.

He was recruited to play defense, but found himself at receiver.

His daughters Taylor and Tory play volleyball at Iowa State.

Knuth married former Drake basketball player Dawn Wumkes. They have four children. Son Jay plays at Johnston High School. Daughter Taryn is a seventh-grader.

He’s now a senior vice president at Farm Credit Services of America.

How did you go from high school quarterback to college receiver?

“Originally, I was going to be a defensive end. In the summer, I started catching passes just to help out. After a couple of weeks, they said, ‘Would you mind trying receiver?’ ”

Your first receivers coach was Mack Brown, now at Texas. What is it like seeing him contending for national titles?

“I’m really happy for him. He was really a mentor and a father figure. Just a high, high character person. The good guys do finish first.”

Gary Swenson was your high school coach. He’s had great success at West Des Moines Valley.

“Without Gary Swenson, I might never have gone to Iowa State. I remember my first college recruiting letter, I was naive and didn’t even know what they wanted. I’m the answer to a trivia question, ‘Who was Gary Swenson’s first Division I recruit?’ ”

“It was the best thing at the time,” Schwab said. “We got to try to win the meet, and that’s what we tried to do.”

England won 8-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 2,200 at the West Gym.

Iowa State coach Kevin Jackson said he’s disappointed Sorenson didn’t get to wrestle in his last match at Northern Iowa, but was pleased with the 19-17 win. It was the seventh consecutive Cyclone win over the Panthers.

“I know we’re right up there at the top of the teams he (Schwab) wants to beat,” Jackson said. “It feels good for us to come and win.”

The dual wasn’t decided until the heavyweight bout between Iowa State’s No. 12-ranked Matt Gibson and Northern Iowa’s Blayne Beale. Gibson took a 7-1 decision.

The Cyclones started with a 4-0 advantage after No. 12-ranked Ryak Finch defeated Cruse Aarhrus by technical fall.

No. 11 Joe Colon put the Panthers ahead 5-4 by a technical fall after he was awarded a near fall against R.J. Hallman.

“He’s going out and scoring points. He’s attacking and building leads,” Schwab said. “He’s wrestling really well right now and we got to keep building on that.”

Iowa State’s No. 18-ranked Luke Goettl battled Levi Wolfensberger for three periods until winning by decision and regaining the lead for the Cyclones, 7-5.

The featured match between Northern Iowa’s No. 6-ranked sophomore Ryan Loder and Iowa State’s No. 16 sophomore Boaz Beard stayed close; Loder won 1-0.

New facility: Northern Iowa announced it would build a revamped training facility, named the Bill Koll Wrestling Room in honor of the three-time national champion. The renovation will begin this spring.

Norman, Okla. -- There’s a McGee Family Reunion, right here in the heart of Sooner country, and you won’t have to look too closely if you’re watching Saturday’s Iowa State-Oklahoma men’s basketball game to see it.

Somewhere near the Cyclones’ bench for the 5 p.m., Big 12 Conference game at Lloyd Noble Center will be at least 50 of Tyrus McGee’s closest friends and family, cheering and possibly even mugging for ESPN2 camera operators.

“It’s going to be like a party,” McGee said two weeks ago, when he already was anticipating the schedule’s Oklahoma swing.

“Oklahoma and then Oklahoma State -- I’ll have a lot of people in those places.”

Big 12 Conference standings

A native of Stringtown, Okla., with a population around 400, McGee plans to help Iowa State deliver its first three-game regular-season conference winning streak since Wayne Morgan’s 2004-05 team strung seven.

That’s also the last Cyclone men’s basketball team invited to the NCAA Tournament, but first things first – like McGee’s venture back home.

“It’s going to be crazy for him,” teammate Chris Allen said. “He’s been talking about it for what seems like forever.”

Stringtown is a 45-minute drive from today’s game in which Iowa State hopes to improve on records of 16-6 and 6-3 against an Oklahoma outfit that’s 13-8, 3-6. It’s just more than an hour’s drive to Stillwater, where the Cyclones play at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“Tyrus’ coach told me that when his mom’s in the building, to expect Tyrus to go for about 30,” coach Fred Hoiberg said.

“Tyrus will step up. He did it the first time against Oklahoma State, when all his friends were watching on national TV. He lives for that moment.”

Iowa State's scores and schedule | Oklahoma's scores and schedule

McGee scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench before Scott Christopherson’s 3-point buzzer-beater provided a 71-68 win against the Cowboys on Jan. 18 in Ames.

He opposed high school nemesis Keiton Page in that game. On the other side today is former high school teammate C.J. Washington.

Another high school teammate, James Watson, is at Kansas State. He’s sitting out this season with an injury.

“Stringtown won state championships with our uncles and with our dads,” said McGee, who was one of 22 in his high school senior class. “We grew up and did the same thing.”

The tradition started on the playground, considering McGee said there wasn’t much else to do back home when he was a kid.

“We never went a day without playing,” McGee said. “Even when we didn’t have practice, we played.

“We waited until everyone got off work, and then we went somewhere and played.”

People watched, but it was nothing like what McGee expects today.

“Everyone still lives in the area,” he said. “I’ve got people from Oklahoma City coming. People from Norman and Stringtown are coming.

“It’s not like we won’t have any support. Everyone’s coming.”

=== SATURDAY'S GAME ===

WHO: Iowa State (16-6 overall, 6-3 in Big 12) at Oklahoma (13-8, 3-6)

WHERE: Lloyd Noble Center TIPOFF: 5 p.m.

TV/RADIO: ESPN2/ Cyclone Radio Network 100.3-FM in Des Moines.

STAT LEADERS: For Iowa State — Royce White 14.0, White 9.5 rpg, White 4.5 apg; For Oklahoma — Steven Pledger 17.8 ppg, Romero Osby 8.0 rpg, Sam Grooms 5.6 apg.

ABOUT THE CYCLONES: They’ve lost five-in-a-row against Oklahoma, and seven consecutive on the Sooners’ home court. Iowa State’s last win in Norman was 70-58 on Feb. 14, 1996.

ABOUT THE SOONERS: The 6-foot-4 Pledger is second in the Big 12 in scoring, and first in the league with an average of 2.6 three-point baskets a game

WHAT TO WATCH: Oklahoma has been known to lack a little defensively, and that was evident during Wednesday’s 84-62 loss at Kansas, when the Jayhawks started the second half by making 10 field goals in a row. The Sooners allow a league-worst 68.1 points a game.

Iowa State's individual statistics | Oklahoma's individual statistics