PRIMER: No. 16 Iowa State vs. Stonehill

Who: Iowa State (3-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Stonehill (1-4, 0-0 NEC)

Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,267) – Ames, Iowa

When: Monday, Nov. 17, 2025 – 7 p.m. CT

Watch: ESPN+ // Noah Wolf (PxP), Paul Doerrfeld (Analyst) & Elizabeth Ihle (Sideline)

Listen: Cyclone Radio Network // John Walters (PxP) & Eric Heft (Analyst)

Tipping Off: Coming off of its first neutral site win (excluding postseason or Feast Week) since 2018, Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum for one final bout before it's off to Las Vegas for a Thanksgiving Tournament: The Players Era Championship.

The Cyclones come into Monday night's contest having dominated Mississippi State the last time out in Sioux Falls. ISU forced a Bulldog program-high 26 turnovers as it used those to fuel a 16-point win, 96-80, over an SEC squad that has made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons.

Stonehill will come to Ames on Monday to complete a busy four-day stretch. The Skyhawks dropped a pair of games in the Mahoney Classic over the weekend, facing Fairfield on Friday and Loyola Maryland on Saturday, before playing their third game in four days against ISU.

Storylines:

At No. 16 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 33 straight weeks, the seventh-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 107, which is the longest streak in the country.
- The Cyclones and Cougars are the only two Big 12 schools to have streaks of at least 15 weeks.
Iowa State won each of its first three games and outscored its opponents by 94 total points across those three games. It's the fourth-straight season that the Cyclones have started 3-0 with a scoring margin of 90+ points. Prior to this run, they had two such seasons in school history (2012-13 and 2016-17).
The Cyclones had three players named to the Naismith Starting Five Preseason Watch lists. Iowa State was one of nine schools in the country to have at least three players named. Along with three selections on the women's side, ISU was one of just five schools in the country to have at least six combined selections.
- Tamin Lipsey was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List.
- Milan Momcilovic was named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List.
- Joshua Jefferson was named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List. Former Cyclone Georges Niang won the award in 2016.
A Preseason All-Big 12 Team selection, Tamin Lipsey has shown no rust in the early part of the season after missing time in the preseason with an injury.
- Lipsey recorded five-plus steals in each of the first two games this season, placing him in sole possession of the second-most five-plus steal games in school history.
- He then set a new personal best in scoring, tallying 25 against Mississippi State in Sioux Falls.
Junior wing Milan Momcilovic started his third collegiate season with a bang against FDU, dropping a career-high 29 points.
- As part of his 29 points, Momcilovic canned a personal best seven 3-pointers, tying for the 10th most 3-pointers made in a game by a Cyclone.
The ever-versatile Joshua Jefferson opened the year with 14 points and grabbed a game-high 10 boards, his 10th career double-double as a Cyclone.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 197-108 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 98-45 record over the last four years.
- His 95 wins in his first four years at Iowa State were the most by any coach in program history in their first four years as head coach.
Under Otz, ISU is 51-10 against non-conference opponents. His 51 wins are tied for the ninth-most in the nation and the .836 winning percentage is the fifth-best.
Otz has led Iowa State to three 20-plus win seasons, joining Orr (5), Hoiberg (4), Floyd (3) and Prohm (3) as only ISU coaches to do so multiple times.
Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to take multiple teams to the Sweet 16.
- He was the 51st coach in NCAA Division I history to take a team to the Sweet 16 twice in his first three years on the job.
- In four postseason appearances, Otzelberger has five NCAA Tournament wins – the most by any coach in program history.
Otz currently holds the school's highest winning percentage by a head coach.
As of Friday, Iowa State slots in at No. 8 in the KenPom rankings and No. 5 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Stonehill and Iowa State will meet for the first time ever on Monday evening.
- The Skyhawks are the second members of the NEC to visit Ames this fall, as ISU opened the season against FDU.
- Stonehill is the second of three first-time opponents for ISU this season. After FDU, just Long Beach State remains.
Stonehill made the transition to Division I in 2022 and this is the first season that it will be eligible for an NCAA postseason following the move.
The Skyhawks will face their first-ever team from the Big 12 in ISU, having already met members of the other Power 5 conferences.
Stonehill returned six players from last year's roster, led by Chas Stinson and Hermann Koffi. SC filled out its roster by bringing in a pair of freshmen and eight transfers.
Stonehill was picked to finish third out of 10 in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll. Last season, it finished sixth with a 7-9 record.
Skyhawk head coach Chris Kraus is in his 12th season at the helm of the Stonehill basketball program. He is 164-164 during his time in Easton, Mass.
- Kraus was the first Canadian-born coach to take the helm of an NCAA men's basketball program.
  - He is now one of two Canadian head coaches at the Division I level.
- He is also one of 51 D1 coaches leading their alma mater this season.
As of Friday, Stonehill is No. 324 in the KenPom rankings and No. 275 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index – the highest-ranked NEC school.

PRIMER: No. 16 Iowa State vs. Stonehill

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PRIMER: No. 16 Iowa State vs. Stonehill

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