Iowa vs. Iowa State College Basketball Game Preview, Prediction, TV Schedule

TV Schedule: Thursday, Dec. 10, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2

Arena: Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa

The Iowa State Cyclones came into the season with diminished expectations due to the departure of head coach Fred Hoiberg to the Chicago Bulls, but they remain undefeated seven games into the season. Although their schedule has been relatively easy up to this point, Steve Prohm and Co. have to be one of the most confident teams in the nation and are showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

Next up for Iowa State, however, is a matchup with their most talented opponents yet, the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Iowa currently boasts a 7-2 record that shows solid wins over the Wichita State Shockers and Florida State Seminoles, and luckily they have only lost to two likely NCAA tournament bound teams, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Dayton Flyers. With the Ohio State Buckeyes, Wisconsin Badgers and Indiana Hoosiers looking extremely vulnerable to begin the season, the Hawkeyes will have a legitimate opportunity to finish much higher in the Big 10 standings than most thought entering the season. A win over Iowa State would all but ensure Iowa’s place in the Big Dance, as long as they avoid any bad losses down the road.

The Hawkeyes boast one of the most efficient offenses in all of college basketball, but so do the Cyclones. Both teams average more than 83 points per game and allow just over 66 points per game. Iowa State might be the better team by far in terms of big-name players, but Iowa looks just as good on paper.

That being said, I doubt Iowa can knock off a team as talented as Iowa State on the road. The Hawkeyes have struggled against teams with experienced guards that also have at least an above average forward to finish on the inside. Monte Morris and Georges Niang are much more than above-average college basketball players, and the Cyclones should have no problem maintaining their unbeaten streak at home.

Prediction: Iowa State 78, Iowa 70

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.