Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On November 17, 2013, former Cyclone head coach Johnny Orr visited Hilton Coliseum as Fred Hoiberg’s Cyclones knocked off seventh-ranked Michigan 77-70. The victory was the opening salvo in a 28-8 season, and it was part of a red-hot start that saw Iowa State win the first 14 games of the season.
The Cyclones entered Hoiberg’s fourth season at the helm with a roster full of new faces. Transfers DeAndre Kane, Abdel Nader, Dustin Hogue, and Jameel McKay joined freshman Monte Morris and Matt Thomas on a roster already featuring Georges Niang, Melvin Ejim, and Naz Long. Back-to-back wins over UNC Wilmington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi allowed the Cyclones to enter the matchup with highly-ranked Michigan 2-0. Dick Vitale arrived as part of the television coverage, and vaunted 5-star recruit Rashad Vaughn took in the scene as Iowa State hoped to make a national statement against the Wolverines.
Ejim, coming off a hyperextended knee which forced him to miss the first two games of the season, shined for the Cyclones to drop in a game-high 22 points. Naz Long chipped in another sixteen and shut down Michigan star Mitch McGary. Hogue got to work in the trenches, adding a gritty twelve-point, ten-rebound double-double. Houge also held his own defensively, switching to Michigan’s Nik Stauskas. After the sharpshooter’s hot start against Matt Thomas and Naz Long, Hauge got the assignment and physically bodied Stauskas down the stretch.
The win propelled the team into the national polls for the first time that season, sparking a steady climb that saw the Cyclones climb as high as eighth following a January 7 win over seventh-ranked Baylor in Hilton Colisum. Although Baylor later got revenge in the Big 12 Championship game, Iowa State closed out the season with a trip to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar
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