OPENING TIP – Chicago State men's basketball kicks off the 2015 Emerald Coast Classic Monday night as it travels to Ames, Iowa to battle seventh-ranked Iowa State at ISU's Hilton Coliseum with a start time of 7 p.m. The game marks the first of four contests in the classic for both CSU and ISU.
SCOUTING CSU – CSU brings a 1-0 record into Monday's game after posting a 137-59 win over Illinois Tech Friday night at the Jones Convocation Center. Seven Cougars scored in double figures in the IIT game, led by junior guard/forward
Trayvon Palmer (Milwaukee, Wis./Brown Deer), who tallied a double-double of 17 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. Palmer is CSU's top returning player after averaging 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds last season and was named Second Team Preseason All-Western Athletic Conference by College Sports Madness in October.
SCOUTING ISU – Iowa State brings a 1-0 record into its home opener on Monday after edging former Big 12 Conference foe Colorado last Friday in Sioux Falls, S.D. Four Cyclone players reached double figure scoring versus CU with senior forward Georges Niang, a Preseason All-America selection, scoring a game-high 17 points. Niang averaged 15.3 points last season for ISU, who is in its first season under new head coach Steve Prohm.
SERIES HISTORY – Iowa State has posted a 7-0 leading margin in the all-time series with Chicago State, but Monday's game is the first meeting between the two teams in five seasons. The Cyclones captured a 104-63 win at Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 21, 2010 in head coach
Tracy Dildy's first season with CSU.
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC – Monday's game is the first for both teams in the Emerald Coast Classic that will commence on Thanksgiving Weekend in Niceville, Fla. Also competing in the classic with CSU and ISU are Illinois, Virginia Tech, UAB, Jacksonville State, Alabama State and Chattanooga.
SETTING NEW RECORDS – CSU set three new Division I single-game records in last Friday's season opener versus Illinois Tech. The Cougars scored 137 points on 56 made field goals to break a near 20-year record while tying a 29-year record by recording 26 steals.
UP NEXT - CSU returns to the JCC on Wednesday night with a home game against Indiana University Northwest with a start time of 7:05 p.m.
