No. 11 Iowa State beats Coppin State 104-84
AMES, Iowa (AP) Iowa State's slate of overmatched opponents is complete.
Next up for the Cyclones is a brutal 18-game Big 12 schedule - with a tough trip to No. 20 Texas A&M in the middle of it.
Abdel Nader scored 21 points and 11th-ranked Iowa State beat Coppin State 104-84 on Wednesday night in its final tune-up for conference play.
Deonte Burton added 17 points for the Cyclones (11-1), who open their conference schedule at No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday.
''Let's bring in the new year. We're ready to go. No question,'' said Iowa State's Georges Niang, who had 15 points. ''If you want to be the best you've got to beat the best, so why not start off at Oklahoma.''
Iowa State went ahead by 21 points midway through the first half and won by at least 20 for the sixth time. Monte Morris had 10 points, 11 assists and no turnovers for his fourth double-double of the year for the Cyclones.
Josh Treadwell had 21 for Coppin State (2-13), which lost its 11th straight.
Iowa State is expected to be among the favorites in a loaded Big 12, along with the Sooners and, of course, second-ranked Kansas.
The Cyclones prepped for their trip to Norman with an up and down effort against a Coppin State team that went 17 of 30 on 3s.
''It felt like they were just turning around and throwing them up in there. But I mean, obviously that's something we're going to work on,'' Niang said.
But Iowa State, which notched an unimpressive win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in their last home game, opened the game on a 12-0 run. The Cyclones then scored 10 of 11 points - with their players at times looking surprised at how open they were on offense - to go ahead 30-9.
The Eagles kept things somewhat respectable by burying eight 3s in the first half. But Iowa State pushed a 16-point lead to 62-37 four minutes into the second half, and the Cyclones began resting some of their rotation players with 12 minutes to go.
Iowa State's lack of depth was evident down the stretch though, as its bench players allowed Coppin State its fair share of open shots.
Jameel McKay also scored 15 points for the Cyclones.
''I thought out guys came out, especially our first group, came out the right way,'' Prohm said.
TIP-INS
Iowa State: The Cyclones extended their non-conference winning streak to 34 games. Iowa State last lost such a game in 2011. ... With his sixth assist Wednesday, Morris matched former Iowa State standouts Jeff Hornacek and Will Blalock by reaching 400 in just 82 games.
Coppin State: The Eagles won't play again at home until Jan. 23 against North Carolina A&T. ...Terry Harris was called for a technical foul for grabbing Matt Thomas by the jaw underneath the basket early in the second half.
STAT LINES
Iowa State shot 29 free throws to just five for the Eagles. ...The Cyclones also dominated the points in the paint 52-20. ... Even though Coppin State was arguably the least appealing home game on Iowa State's schedule, it still drew a sellout crowd of 14,383.
ON THE RISE
Burton, a Marquette transfer playing in just his third game at Iowa State and his first at home, was 5 of 7 from the field and had six rebounds in 21 minutes.
WHAT'S NEXT
Iowa State will face the Sooners in Norman on Saturday.
Coppin State plays at Howard on Jan. 9.
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