Cyclone Roundup: 1-26 Edition

By Chris Williams, CycloneFanatic.com PublisherFollow Chris on Twitter @ChrisMWilliams

Happy Thursday Cyclone Nation!

We’re in the thick of hoops season and National Signing Day is next week. It’s the perfect day for a Cyclone Roundup. Here we go…

BIG GAME: As of this morning, it’s official.

Saturday’s men’s basketball game vs. No. 1 Kansas is a sellout.

For more on this, I stopped by Mr. B Clothing yesterday where Tim Sitzmann and I talked about the big game.

ESPN FEATURE: The Cyclones got some awesome national press on Thursday morning.

CLICK HERE to read an ESPN The Magazine feature on Fred Hoiberg/Iowa State basketball.

BIG WIN: If you haven’t seen by now, Bill Fennelly’s Iowa State women’s basketball team pulled off a HUGE road victory last night in Manhattan. The Cyclones came back from a nine-point halftime deficit to defeat Kansas State by a 66-57 final.

SENIOR BOWL: Just a reminder that former Cyclones Leonoard Johnson and Kelechi Osemele will be competing in the 2012 Senior Bowl this Saturday. The game kicks off at 3 p.m. and will be televised on the NFL Network. Gonna be on Hilton aren’t you? Set your DVR. 

VOLLEYBALL ATTRITION: Iowa State sent out this press release regarding two members of the volleyball team walking away yesterday…

Redshirt freshman Hannah Willms and sophomore Hannah Johnson will not return to the Cyclone volleyball team for the 2012 season head coach Christy Johnson-Lynch announced Wednesday. Willms is leaving the volleyball team to focus on her track and field commitments at Iowa State and Johnson will take a medical hardship for the final two years of her Cyclones career.

“We want to wish Hannah Johnson and Hannah Willms the best of luck in their future endeavors,” Johnson-Lynch said. “They are both wonderful student-athletes and have been valuable members of our team. They are both very hard working, very dedicated, individuals and I appreciate all they have done for Cyclone volleyball.”

Willms, the 2011 Preseason All-Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, played in 23 matches, starting 10 matches, at outside hitter for the Cyclones last season. The Waterloo native averaged 2.20 kills per set, 0.89 digs per set and 0.34 blocks per set. Her best match came against Texas A&M where she recorded 17 kills on.

In her two seasons coming off the bench for Iowa State, Johnson saw action in 16 matches, appearing in 20 sets. The middle blocker out of Ankeny played in matches against IUPUI, Iowa, Texas Tech, Baylor, Kansas and Texas A&M in 2011, smashing three kills on four attempts against the Jayhawks at Hilton.

LINKS

— A recent Q&A with one of Iowa State’s top prospects in the basketball recruiting class of 2013, Matt Thomas of Onakaska, Wisc. — GopherHole.com

— More hoops recruiting…This weekend will be a busy one. CLICK HERE for more on our forums.

— So it’s starting to look like West Virginia will be in the Big 12 next year after all…Details on that and the Big 12’s "boss" blasting Missouri in this David Ubben blog. — ESPN.COM.