Cyclones Look to Continue Their Run to Dallas

The Iowa State Cyclones may not be getting the same amount of attention as their East Regional counterparts, but they are certainly in a strong position to emerge from Madison Square Garden as the victor. After their opening round victory over the North Carolina Central Eagles, it appeared they would have a difficult time moving on any further with the news that star Georges Niang would be out for the remainder of the tourney with a broken foot. Nonetheless, the team held on for an excruciatingly exciting victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the third round, 85-83, to get to the point they are in right now.

Coach Fred Hoiberg will lean on his other two star playmakers, Melvin Ejim and DeAndre Kane, to lead their team to victory over the upstart UConn Huskies tomorrow evening at MSG. The Huskies are led by a very talented group of guards, Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatwright, and have a versatile group of players playing alongside the dynamic duo, including a few players such as Niels Giffey and Tyler Olander who were a part of UConn’s national championship run three years ago.

For Cyclones fans still holding out hope to go to the game, East Regionals tickets from PrimeSport are available, but it will cost you an arm and a leg. The get-in price is a touch under $500 right now at $495 with the average ticket price at $1,452. For fans from Ames and around these parts, the tickets for Sunday’s Elite Eight game are much more reasonable, with a get-in price currently of $164 and an average ticket price of roughly $430. So fans looking to take a risk can get in to the Elite Eight game for a pretty reasonable rate.

But the Cyclones will need to get by the Huskies first, a daunting task without Niang, but certainly doable.