Two teams with very similar styles will go at it today when Utah and Iowa State meet in the second round of the Midwest Regional at Reunion Arena at 12:20 p.m. MST.
Both teams are well-coached, defense-oriented teams that stress good shooting, ball control and rebounding. The No. 12 ranked Utes are the fourth seed in the Midwest, while the No. 23-ranked Cyclones are the fifth seed. Utah ranks 17th in the nation in scoring defense, while Iowa State ranks 19th.The big question going into the contest is whether Utah's all-American forward Keith Van Horn, out with the flu for Thursday's first-round NCAA game, will be back in action for today's game. As of Friday night, it looks like Van Horn will play.
Van Horn felt much better Friday morning, eating breakfast with the team, and later accompanied his teammates to the arena for afternoon practice.
"I'm doing a lot better today," he said. "If I continue to improve, I'll be ready for tomorrow's game."
Van Horn has been battling a flu bug since Sunday and has had cold symptoms, achiness and had trouble keeping food down. But he said Friday evening that he had kept his last three meals down and was getting stronger.
"I still feel a little weak, but since I haven't played in five or six days, it was nice to come out and shoot," he said. "Hopefully I'll be ready for tomorrow."
Another question is how close to full strength Van Horn will be, assuming he does play.
Majerus said the Utes might actually be better off without Van Horn than with a sick player who hadn't practiced all week.
"It might sound crazy, but we might be better off if he doesn't play if he's sick because of all the circumstances," he said. "It's tough when you have been bedridden for five days and all of a sudden you must come out to play."
Majerus said he thought it might have been better for Canisius not to play leading scorer Darrell Barley, who had sat out several games with a broken thumb but was trying to play injured.
"When you're not practicing, it's difficult to play because your shooting goes south, your timing is off and you lose your competitive edge," he said. "I don't know what Keith will do, but I'm willing to give him a shot."
Van Horn may not play his usual 31 minutes, but he should have a lot of help from his teammates, who got plenty of rest in the 72-43 win over Canisius. No Ute played more than Ben Caton's 27 minutes.
"It just goes to show that we're not a one-man team," said Van Horn, who gets weary from all of the attention.
The Cyclones are coached by Tim Floyd, who used to be an assistant to Don Haskins at UTEP for a decade before moving on to Idaho. After two years there, he moved on to New Orleans for six years before moving to Iowa State two years ago.
His team was picked for last in the Big Eight after losing most of its players from last year. But using some junior college and four-year college transfers, Floyd molded a team that finished second in the Big Eight and won the Big Eight tournament over Kansas.
Iowa State is led by guard Dedric Willoughby, who averaged 20.2 during the regular season and scored 23 in their Thursday win over California.
Other starters are forwards Shawn Bankhead (7.9 ppg) and Kenny Pratt (15.4), center Kelvin Cato (9.5) and point guard Jacy Holloway (4.5).
The Utes should have an overall height advantage at every position except center, where Cato is the same (6-11) as Michael Doleac.
The winner of today's game will face the winner of Saturday's Kentucky-Virginia Tech game, scheduled for approximately 2:40 p.m. MST. The Midwest Region games will be in Minneapolis Thursday and Saturday.
*****
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
U. women tonight
The University of Utah women's basketball team looks to win its first-ever NCAA Tournament game as the Utes face Southern Mississippi tonight at 5 p.m. in Ruston, La. See Page D2.