No. 24 Iowa State at No. 19 TCU Primer

Who: No. 24 Iowa State (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) at No. 19 TCU (13-4, 2-2 Big 12)

Where: Schollmaier Arena (8,500) – Fort Worth, Texas

When: Saturday, Jan. 20, 2024 – 1:00 p.m.

Tipping Off: Iowa State is set to take on its second ranked opponent on the road this weekend, as the Cyclones will head to Fort Worth for a meeting with the 19th-ranked TCU Horned Frogs. TCU, like ISU, is 2-2 in the Big 12 and is coming off a road setback.

Iowa State and TCU will meet for the 30th time this weekend and for the 24th time as conference foes. The Cyclones lead the all-time series 15-14 and have won the past three meetings over the Horned Frogs. ISU's most recent trip to Fort Worth featured heroics from Gabe Kalscheur last season as the Cyclones went on to win, 69-67.

Storylines:

Tamin Lipsey has been the catalyst for the Cyclones so far this year, as the former Little Cyclone is averaging a team-best 14.5 points per game. He leads the team in field goals made (85), assists (95), steals (57) and minutes played.
- Lipsey set the school record for steals against PVAMU, picking the Panthers' pockets eight times.
  - The previous record, seven, was held by Fred Hoiberg and Justus Thigpen.
- Against DePaul, Lipsey recorded the seventh triple-double in school history, going for 15 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
  - Lipsey became the first Cyclone since Tyrese Haliburton in 2020 to record a triple-double.
UNLV transfer Keshon Gilbert, a St. Louis native, averages 13.1 points per game and is tied for the second most points on the team (223).
- Gilbert recorded a triple-double against New Hampshire, going for 10 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
  - His triple-double – the eighth in school history – puts him with Lipsey, Haliburton, Monté Morris, Royce White, Jamaal Tinsley, Curtis Stinson and Marc Urquhart as members of the illustrious club.
    - ISU is the only team in the country with two triple-doubles by different players this season.
- Gilbert is second in the Big 12 in free throws attempted (94) and fourth in FT made (68).
  - He is second on the team in both assists (77) and third in steals (28).
- Gilbert has the second most Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards this season, behind Kansas's Hunter Dickinson.
- He's recorded a team-best four 20-plus point outings this season, including three in the last seven contests.
Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic has been having a solid freshman campaign, as the rookie from Pewaukee is averaging 13.1 points per game.
- Momcilovic has a team-high 31 3-pointers and shoots it at a 39.5 percent clip.
- He is one of five Cyclones to score at least 20 in a game this season.
- Momcilovic is averaging the most points per game by an ISU true freshman since Lindell Wigginton's 16.7 in 2017-18.
  - He is the second highest-scoring true freshman in the Big 12, behind Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter.
- Against No. 2 Houston, Momcilovic was the hero as he scored the final four points for ISU – including a tough baseline turnaround jumper to give the Cyclones a late lead.
Robert Jones leads the team in offensive rebounds (40) and blocks (14).
Tre King leads the team in rebounds, as the senior out of Lexington, Ky., averages 5.5 per game.
Hason Ward has returned to action after missing nine games with an injury and leads the team in field goal percentage, shooting 68.2 percent.
- In his five games back, Ward is averaging 10 points with 5.2 boards.
Ward, Curtis Jones, Jackson Paveletzke, Demarion Watson and Omaha Biliew make up the bench unit for the Cyclones.
As a head coach, Otz is 153-94 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 54-31 record over the last three seasons.

From the Notes:

The Cyclones are coming off an 87-72 setback at No. 20 BYU on Tuesday night. The 87 points were the most allowed by ISU under T.J. Otzelberger.
The Cyclones finished the non-con, having won 27 straight games against non-conference opponents at Hilton Coliseum, tied for the ninth-longest streak in the nation.
- Under Otz, ISU is 35-7 against non-conference opponents.
As of Friday, the Cyclones are ranked No. 10 in the NET. The Cyclones slot in at No. 14 in the KenPom rankings and are No. 7 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.
The Cyclones went 6-0 in the month of December, as Iowa State improved to 16-1 in the month under T.J. Otzelberger. The 16 victories under Otz are tied for the 10th most in the nation in that span.
The Cyclones are 23-1 under T.J. Otzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
The six highest-scoring Cyclone outputs under Otzelberger have all come this season, including a pair of 100-point performances. Nine of the 10 highest under Otz have also come this season.
The Cyclones have scored 90 or more points six times this season. It is the most times hitting that mark in a season since the 2016-17 team did so eight times.
The Cyclones are coming off a perfect week, beating No. 2 Houston 57-53 on Tuesday and Oklahoma State 66-42 on Saturday.
- It marked just the second time in Iowa State's Big 12 history to hold back-to-back league opponents to under 100 points.
- Houston's 53 points was its lowest point total since Dec. 3, 2022.
Coach Otzelberger became the first Cyclones head coach to defeat both the No. 1 and No. 2 team.

Switching Sides:

The Horned Frogs were picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, two spots ahead of the Cyclones, in the eighth season of the Jamie Dixon Era.
TCU returned 10 athletes from last season and brought in a pair of freshmen to pair with five first-year transfers.
- Among those first-year transfers are a pair of familiar faces, as both Avery Anderson III (OSU) and Ernest Udoh (KU) transferred from other Big 12 programs.
- Also, among the first-year transfers is Jameer Nelson Jr., son of NBA All-Star and Saint Joseph's legend Jameer Nelson.
TCU ranks top in the nation in fastbreak points, as the Horned Frogs average 22.24 points per game.
Preseason All-Big 12 Team member Emanuel Miller leads TCU in scoring, as the senior forward out of Ontario averages 16.6 points per game.
- Miller has twice been named the Big 12 Player of the Week this season.
The Frogs are currently ranked No. 24 in KenPom, No. 32 in the NET and No. 20 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index.
Horned Frog head coach Jamie Dixon has been a head coach for 21 seasons, beginning his tenure with a 13-year stint at Pitt before taking over TCU. With the Horned Frogs, Dixon is 152-101 and has led the Frogs to three NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Overall, Dixon is 480-224 in his career.
- With Pitt, Dixon had two Sweet Sixteen appearances ('04 & '07) and he also took the Panthers to an Elite Eight in 2009.
  - Dixon has taken 14 of his previous 20 teams to the NCAA Tournament.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Omaha Biliew

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Gabe Kalscheur

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Jackson Paveletzke

Hason Ward

Demarion Watson

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics