Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series Primer: No. 3 Iowa State at Iowa

WHO: No. 3 Iowa State (7-1, 0-0 Big 12) at Iowa (7-2, 0-0 Big Ten)

Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,998) – Iowa City, Iowa

When: Thursday, December 12, 2024 – 6:30 p.m. CT

Watch/Listen: Fox Sports 1 (FS1) / Cyclone Radio Network

Tip: Following a four-game winning streak, No. 3 Iowa State travels to Iowa City for its first road contest of the 2024-25 season. The Cyclones will look to avoid a four-game losing streak in Iowa City, while ISU will look for the team’s first win in opposing territory since 2014.

Last week, Iowa State improved to 5-0 all-time in the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle, defeating No. 5 Marquette and earning the school’s largest non-conference home win in program history. Then Iowa State reached the century mark against Jackson State for the first time this season and third time under Otzelberger, winning 100-58.

After a 5-0 start to the season, Iowa has lost two of its last four games, first against Utah State at a neutral site in Kansas City and then against No. 23 Michigan on the road. The Hawkeyes picked up a Big Ten win in their conference opener when guard Josh Dix sank a deep three-pointer at the horn to beat Northwestern 80-79 in Iowa City.

Iowa State leads the 2024-25 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series at 9-4, with wins in football, volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country. Iowa has victories in football and wrestling. Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and the swimming and diving teams will play their Cy-Hawk competitions this week, while tennis, gymnastics and softball will be in their second semester.

Storylines:

• Iowa State rose to No. 3 in the AP poll this week, setting a program record for its highest ranking ever.
• Keshon Gilbert was the team’s most consistent player at the start of the season, averaging 17.4 points per game and 5.5 assists, a team-high.

  • He scored more than 20 points in three of his last five games.
  • Gilbert earned back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Week honors following his performances on Maui and last week against No. 5 Marquette.
  • Last season, Gilbert scored 25 points against Iowa, went 3-for-3 from distance and had six assists with three steals.

• Sixth man in eight competitions Curtis Jones He is second on the team with an average of 16.3 points per contest and has scored in double figures in all seven games in which he came off the bench.

  • In his last 26 contests off the bench, Jones reached double-digit points 24 times.
  • Jones leads the team in field goals (45) and 3-pointers (23).
  • Last year against the Hawkeyes, Jones scored four points in 15 minutes of play with four rebounds.

• Tamin Lipsey was the ideal glue guy and role player for the Cyclones as he settled into a nice, complementary role.

  • He leads the team with an average of 2.5 steals per game.
  • Lipsey was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season as well as a member of the First Team All-Big 12 and a member of the league’s All-Defensive Team.

• Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic He averages 12.5 points per game and shoots the team’s highest 3-ball range at a whopping 50 percent.

  • Momcilovic set a personal best on Maui by hitting six triples against Colorado for a career-high 24 points.

• Joshua Jefferson He leads the team with an average of 7.8 rebounds per game and scores 10.4 points per game.

  • He has three double-doubles this season and has one in each of the last two games.

• Dishon Jackson has been a consistent force for the Cyclones this season, averaging 11.4 points and 5.8 rebounds.

  • He leads the team in blocks (7) and is one of five Cyclones to average double figures.

From the notes:

• As a head coach, Otz is 176-99 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 77-36 record over the last four years.

  • ISU is 50-8 in games played at Hilton Coliseum under Otzelberger.

• Under Otz, ISU is 44-9 in non-conference games. The 44 wins are the seventh most in the nation and the winning percentage of .830 is the sixth best.
• Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men’s basketball coach to lead multiple teams to the Sweet 16.

  • Otz will attempt to become the first coach in program history to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first four years of coaching.

• Iowa State has won 22 straight home games at Hilton Coliseum, tying it for the fifth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
• Four Cyclones have scored double-digit points in seven of ISU’s eight contests this season.

  • The Cyclones are 37-2 under TJ Ötzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.

• Coach Otzelberger currently holds the Iowa State winning percentage record with 0.681 of his games won.
• Iowa State improved to 5-0 in the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle last Wednesday, defeating fifth-ranked Marquette in the team’s second top-five game of the season, while the Cyclones earned their 11th win over a top-10 team under Otzelberger .
• The Cyclones are ranked No. 9 in the NET. Iowa State is No. 6 in the KenPom rankings and No. 7 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Changing sides:

• This will be the 78th all-time meeting between Iowa State and Iowa in a series the Hawkeyes lead 48-29.

  • Since 2000, the road team has won in this series just six times, with Iowa winning three times in Ames and ISU winning three times in Iowa City.
  • Iowa has won four straight times against Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, averaging 18.8 points. That includes a 28-point win in 2020 (105-77) and a 19-point win (75-56) in 2022.
  • Iowa State is 13-12 in the last 25 meetings.

• The Hawkeyes finished 11th out of 18 in the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll. Voting was done by a group of 33 beat writers who cover the teams at the conference.
• Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort was selected to the 2024-25 Preseason All-Big Ten Team along with nine other players.
• Iowa leads the Big Ten in assists (19.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81). The team had more than 20 assists in four games. The team ranks 10th nationally in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery is in his 15th year at the helm of the Hawkeye program, the third-longest tenure in the conference.

  • McCaffery has a 287-193 record at Iowa and a 538-270 record overall in his 29-year head coaching career, which began at Lehigh and also included stops at UNC Greensboro and Siena.
  • McCaffery has the most wins in Iowa men’s basketball in history.
  • McCaffery is 6-8 against the Cyclones during his time at Iowa, but has won five of his last eight games against ISU.

• Iowa is ranked No. 47 in the NET. The Hawkeyes are No. 46 in KenPom and No. 51 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.