2021-22 MBB Season In Review

AMES, Iowa - Iowa State completed its first season under head coach T.J. Otzelberger with a 22-13 overall record and advancement to the school's 21st NCAA Tournament and sixth Sweet Sixteen. ISU was ranked No. 23 in the final coaches poll.

- Iowa State posted the third-best improvement in NCAA history, posting a +20 win improvement this season compared to last ... the Cyclones went from 2-22 last season to 22-13 this season, trailing only Towson (+21) and Middle Tennessee (+21) on the all-time charts.
- ISU defied all odds in making the NCAA Tournament this season ... the Cyclones were unanimously picked to finish last in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll but went on to finish seventh in what was undoubtedly the nation's toughest conference ... the Cyclones rose to as high as No. 8 in the AP Top 25 and were ranked for a total of 10 weeks ... ISU was one of the last two undefeated teams remaining in the nation before falling in the Big 12 opener to Baylor, which was also unbeaten at the time.
- T.J. Otzelberger became the eighth head coach in school history to lead the Cyclones to the tournament ... he is the third coach in NCAA Tournament history to lead his program to the Sweet Sixteen in the first year after taking over a team with a losing record the previous season.
- The Cyclones, who earned an 11 seed, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with first and second upsets of LSU and Wisconsin, respectively ... ISU is the first team to go from two wins the season before to the Sweet 16.
- Iowa State went 15-1 this season against non-conference opponents ... the Cyclones surprised the nation when they won the Upsie NIT Season Tip Off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, defeating nationally-ranked Xavier and Memphis en route to the title ... the Cyclones routed intrastate rival Iowa, 73-53, at Hilton Coliseum in December, the largest margin of victory by ISU in series history.
- Iowa State won five games against ranked foes this season, the most since the 2018-19 season ... it was the most by an Iowa State first-year head coach in school history.
- Otzelberger was named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.
- Iowa State was led by a pair of newcomers in Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter ... Brockington was an All-Big 12 First-Team pick and was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year ... he also earned a spot on the all-newcomer team after averaging 16.9 points and 6.8 rebounds, both of which ranked in the top-four of the Big 12 Conference.
- Hunter earned Big 12 Freshman of the Year accolades and a spot on the all-freshman team ... the rookie from Racine, Wisconsin, averaged 11.0 points and broke the ISU freshman record with 172 assists and 71 steals ... Hunter saved his best for the NCAA Tournament when he poured in 23 points and connected on 7-of-11 3-pointers as the Cyclones beat LSU in the first round.
- The Cyclones snapped a number of long losing streaks this season: 18-game losing streak, 8-game home losing streak, 25-game losing streak to power conference opponents, 19-game losing streak to ranked opponents, 28-game losing streak away from Hilton Coliseum, 18-game losing streak when trailing at the half, 24-game losing streak to conference foes, a 25-game losing streak in true road games, a 24-game losing streak in conference road games, 78-game losing streak when trailing with one minute left in regulation and a 42-game losing streak when trailing with five minutes left in regulation.

To view the complete end of season release, click here.

Players Mentioned

Izaiah Brockington

Tyrese Hunter

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics