No. 23 Iowa and No. 17 Iowa State square off on Friday night in Ames, and this is the biggest Cy-Hawk matchup in recent memory. The last time both teams faced each other while ranked was back in December 1987, when Roy Marble Sr. was playing for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery talked about the matchup and what it means to the state of Iowa, and the possibility of the return of an injured Josh Oglesby.

Hate Week?

Whenever Iowa and Iowa State play each other in football, it’s often dubbed “Hate Week” between fans of both schools. Leading up to this basketball contest, though, everything seems to be cordial between players and coaches of both schools.

McCaffery said he thinks that because Iowa and Iowa State are not in the same conference makes this particular matchup a little different, and the high regard both McCaffery and Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg hold for each other makes this Cy-Hawk contest unique.

“I’ve been involved in a lot of different rivalries in my life. They’re all different,” McCaffery said. “No less intense. Pretty much everywhere you are has a rivalry game. Oftentimes, it’s another conference opponent. We don’t have to go through Iowa State to win a championship. So it’s a little bit different that way.

“They have a lot of different players we respect, and we appreciate they respect what were doing Fred and I have gotten to know each other real well since we’ve been here. I consider him a friend.”

Iowa senior forward Zach McCabe is an Iowa native, growing up in Sioux City. He said that he doesn’t have any feelings of agitation in regard to Iowa State, other than the fact he was never offered to play basketball there as a recruit.

“I wasn’t a big Iowa State fan growing up,” McCabe said. “It was interesting, the whole recruiting process. It adds a little fuel to the fire.”

Oglesby to return soon

Junior guard Josh Oglesby has missed the entire season so far due to a foot injury he sustained in a practice before the season-opener. McCaffery said there’s a small chance he could play against Iowa State but expects him to see some minutes on Dec. 22, when Iowa plays Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

“[Oglesby] is working hard,” McCaffery said. “He worked hard yesterday. I’d say he’s doubtful for this game. Getting closer. We have to be careful how hard we push him and make sure he doesn’t have a setback.”

McCaffery also said the thought of redshirting Oglesby has crossed his mind.

“Absolutely. For him, it’s going to be, ‘Where is he a week from now, where is he 10 days from now?’ ” he said. “It’s a possibility. He wants to play, we want him to play. He should have the entire Big Ten schedule plus the Pine Bluff game.”

Oglesby said he never thought too much about sitting out the entire year with a redshirt, and he thinks he’s ready to play and make an impact on an already 10-deep rotation soon.

“Coach hasn’t really said too much about [the redshirt],” Oglesby said. “My foot is feeling good, I want to play.”