Iowa State vs. No. 1 North Carolina Gameday Primer

Who: Iowa State (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. No. 1 North Carolina (5-0, 0-0 ACC)

Where: Veterans Memorial Coliseum (12,888) – Portland, Oregon

When: Friday, Nov. 25, 2022 – 4:30 p.m. (CT)

The Lead:
After an 81-79 overtime victory over Villanova in the PKI Quarterfinals, ISU will face top-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals. The Cyclones have won four of the last eight holiday tournaments they have participated in. This is the first time ISU has faced the No. 1 team in the country in a non-conference game since playing Cincinnati in the championship game of the 1999 Big Island Invitational.

Storylines:

This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the Cyclones and the Tar Heels. All five meetings have come on a neutral floor in Charlotte, Tallahassee, San Antonio and Portland.
Friday will be the 23rd all-time meeting against the top-ranked team in the AP Top 25. Iowa State is 2-20 against the No. 1 team, with wins over Oklahoma (1-18-16) and Kansas (1-14-57).Otzelberger is 5-7 against the AP Top 25 at Iowa State.
On Thursday, Iowa State Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger picked up his 125th win as a head coach. He has 26 at Iowa State, 70 at South Dakota State and 29 at UNLV.

From the Notes:

Tamin Lipsey is averaging 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game in the first four games. He is one of four true freshmen in the country to average those numbers.

Switching Sides:

The defending national runner-up, North Carolina is the top-ranked team in the country in both the AP and USA Today Coaches Poll.
Friday's game against Iowa State will be the first Power Six opponent the Tar Heels have faced this season.
North Carolina used a 14-3 run in the second half to beat Portland 89-81 in the opening round.

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Players Mentioned

Tamin Lipsey

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics