Oklahoma, Iowa State Face Off In Big 12 Tourney

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ Everything first-year Iowa State basketball coach Greg McDermott has done this season has been part of an effort to get the program back on track. <br/><br/>The Big 12 tournament

Wednesday, March 7th 2007, 9:16 pm

By: News On 6

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _ Everything first-year Iowa State basketball coach Greg McDermott has done this season has been part of an effort to get the program back on track.

The Big 12 tournament won't be any different, as the Cyclones take on Oklahoma with a chance at NCAA or NIT tournament bids at stake. The winner will play top-seeded Kansas.

McDermott succeeded Wayne Morgan, whom athletic director Jamie Pollard sacked because he felt Morgan couldn't return the team to national prominence. Many of Morgan's player also left.

McDermott added junior college guards Corey McIntosh and Mike Taylor and plucked freshman forward Wesley Johnson out of near-obscurity.

The team has won more than most people thought they would, thanks to Taylor's scoring and Johnson's seamless transition to the college game.

The Sooners have fallen off the map after a strong start to conference play, losing six straight.

Beating OU in Oklahoma City -- just north of Norman -- won't be easy for Iowa State, though, given what is expected to be a largely Sooners crowd.