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, Dec. 12, 2024 – 6:30 p.m. CT

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

Tipping Off: Riding a four-game win streak, No. 3 Iowa State is set to head to Iowa City for its first road contest of the 2024-25 campaign. The Cyclones will look to snap a four-game skid in Iowa City, as ISU will look to earn the team's first win in enemy territory since 2014.

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

After starting the season 5-0, Iowa has dropped two of its last four, falling to Utah State at a neutral venue in Kansas City and then to No. 23 Michigan on the road. The Hawkeyes did pick up a Big Ten win in the conference opener, as guard Josh Dix buried a deep 3-pointer at the horn to down Northwestern, 80-79, in Iowa City.

Iowa State leads the 2024-25 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series, 9-4, with victories in football, volleyball and men's and women's cross country. Iowa owns wins in soccer and wrestling. Both men's and women's basketball teams as well as swimming & diving will have their Cy-Hawk contests this week while tennis, gymnastics and softball will happen in the second semester.

Storylines:

Iowa State rose to number three in the AP Poll this week, tying a program record for highest ranking ever.
Keshon Gilbert has been the team's most consistent player early in the season, averaging 17.4 points per game with a team-high 5.5 assists.
- He's scored 20-plus points in three of his last five outings.
- Gilbert earned back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Week awards, following his performances in Maui and then last week against No. 5 Marquette.
- Last season, Gilbert scored 25 points against Iowa, going 3-3 from deep, and notching six assists with three steals.
Through eight contests, sixth-man Curtis Jones is second on the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points per contest, and has scored in double figures in all seven games he's come off the bench.
- In his last 26 contests where he has come off the bench, Jones has finished with double figure 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 action with four rebounds.
Tamin Lipsey has been the ideal glue guy and role player for the Cyclones, as he's settled into a nice complimentary role.
- He leads the team in steals, averaging 2.5 per game.
- Lipsey was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season, as well as a First Team All-Big 12 member and a member of the league's All-Defensive Team.
Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic averages 12.5 points per game and shoots the 3-ball at the highest clip on the team at whopping 50 percent.
- Momcilovic tied a personal best in Maui, canning six triples against Colorado as he went on to earn a career-high 24 points.
Joshua Jefferson leads the team in rebounds, averaging 7.8 per contest, and he scores 10.4 points per game.
- He has three double-doubles this season and has recorded one in each of the last two outings.
Dishon Jackson has been a steady force in the paint for the Cyclones this season, averaging 11.4 points and pulling down 5.8 rebounds.
- He leads the team in blocks (7) and is one of five Cyclones to average double-figure scoring.

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 at Hilton Coliseum under Otzelberger.
Under Otz, ISU is 44-9 in non-conference games. The 44 wins are tied for the seventh-most in the nation and the .830 winning percentage is the sixth-best.
Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to take multiple teams to the Sweet 16.
- Otz will attempt to become the first coach in program history to take a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first four years as coach.
Iowa State has won 22-straight home games at Hilton Coliseum, tied for the fifth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
Four Cyclones have scored in double figures in seven of ISU's eight contests this season.
- The Cyclones are 37-2 under T.J. Otzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
Coach Otzelberger currently holds the Iowa State career winning percentage record, having won .681 of his games.
Iowa State improved to 5-0 in the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle last Wednesday, downing fifth-ranked Marquette in the team's second top-five game of the season as the Cyclones earned their 11th win over a top 10 team under Otzelberger.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 9 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 6 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 7 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

This will be the 78th all-time meeting between Iowa State and Iowa in a series that the Hawkeyes lead, 48-29.
- Since 2000, the road team has won just six times in this series, with Iowa winning three times in Ames and ISU winning three times in Iowa City.
- Iowa has won four straight over Iowa State inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, winning by an average of 18.8 points. This includes a 28-point win in 2020 (105-77) and a 19-point victory (75-56) in 2022.
- In the last 25 meetings, Iowa State is 13-12.
The Hawkeyes were picked to finish 11th out of 18 in the Big Ten Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, as voted on by a panel of 33 beat writers who cover teams in the conference.
Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort was voted to the 2024-25 Preseason All-Big Ten Team, along with nine other players.
Iowa is leading the Big Ten in assists (19.3) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.81). The team has had 20+ assists in four games. The team is 10th in the nation in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Iowa Head Coach Fran McCaffery is in his 15th year at the helm of the Hawkeye program – tied for the third-longest tenure in the conference.
- McCaffery is 287-193 with Iowa and is 538-270 overall in his 29-year head coaching career which began at Lehigh and also featured stops at UNC Greensboro and Siena.
- McCaffery owns the most wins in Iowa men's basket all 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.

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

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Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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

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Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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