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Charlie Neibergall/The Associated Press North Dakota's Travis Mertens loses the ball in front of Iowa State's Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap during the first half Tuesday at Hilton Coliseum.

Luke Meredith AMES, Iowa - Published on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009 6:06PM EST Last updated on Sunday, Dec.

Ames, Ia. - It sounded like a meeting of the Mutual Admiration Society this week when basketball coaches Greg McDermott of Iowa State and Todd Lickliter of Iowa talked about Friday night's 7 o'clock Cyclone-Hawkeye showdown at Hilton Coliseum.

Patrick Christopher had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Jerome Randle added 18 points as California defeated Iowa State 82-63 on Saturday night.

Ali Farokhmanesh buried a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left and Northern Iowa rallied to beat host Iowa State 63-60 Wednesday night for its third win in four tries against former Panthers coach Greg McDermott.

Iowa State got the shot it wanted with 5 seconds to play against Northwestern Saturday night in the championship game of the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

After overcoming a physical first half, Iowa State gained control of the second half by playing its up-tempo brand of basketball.

Only one Iowa State men's basketball player has scored in double figures in all five games this season.

AMES, Iowa a ' Iowa State closed the first half on a 34-8 run to overcome a sluggish start in a 96-55 win over Mississippi Valley State Sunday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

It was men versus boys. A heavyweight with reach against a welterweight with doubts.

The shot clock was winding down and Iowa State's Lucca Staiger was 25 feet from the basket with a defender in his face.

Iowa State's day got off to a bad start as hometown high school star Harrison Barnes announced he was signing with North Carolina.

Iowa State basketball team dealing with deep roster. By JOHN BOHNENKAMP jbohnenkamp@thehawkeye.com AMES -- Greg McDermott has a good problem that could become a big problem.

Coach Greg McDermott can count on no subtraction in the middle and a big addition on the wing.

Iowa State men's basketball hit the recruiting jackpot over the weekend by landing a pair of players for different recruiting classes.

The key, whether Brackins returns or not, is for returning players to improve during the off-season. Everyone showed promise, from the playmaking of G Diante Garrett , the long-range shooting of G Lucca Staiger and the inside accuracy of C Justin Hamilton .

The key, whether Brackins returns or not, is for returning players to improve during the off-season. Everyone showed promise, from the playmaking of G Diante Garrett , the long-range shooting of G Lucca Staiger and the inside accuracy of C Justin Hamilton .

Chris Colvin isn't shy about sharing his great expectations for his first basketball season at Iowa State, one that could be the best of the Greg McDermott era.

You won't see Dominique Buckley - or any other Iowa State guard - wasting away the summer by the pool or on the couch playing video games.