No. 23 Iowa State vs. Kansas State Primer

Who: No. 23 Iowa State (14-4, 3-2 Big 12) vs. Kansas State (14-4, 4-1 Big 12)

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

When: Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024 – 8:00 p.m.

Tipping Off: After splitting a pair of road games against ranked foes last week, Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum to welcome the first-place Kansas State Wildcats to town for a Wednesday night matchup.

Iowa State and Kansas State will meet for the 238th time on Wednesday as part of a series that dates back to 1909. The Wildcats hold the all-time series advantage, but the series is split five apiece over the last ten meetings. The Cyclones are 29-23 against K-State in the confines of Hilton.

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 missed the last game against TCU due to injury.
- 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 13.5 points per game and has the second most points on the team.
- 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 (98) and fourth in FT made (70).
  - He is second on the team in both assists (81) and third in steals (30).
- 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 five 20-plus point outings.
Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic has been having a solid freshman campaign, as the rookie from Pewaukee is averaging 12.9 points per game.
- Momcilovic has a team-high 36 3-pointers and shoots it at a 39.1 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.
Robert Jones leads the team in offensive rebounds (41), field goal percentage (63.3%) and blocks (16).
Tre King leads the team in rebounds, as the senior out of Lexington, Ky., averages 5.5 per game and has a total of 99 boards.
Hason Ward has returned to action after missing nine games with an injury and has been a force on the defensive end and at the rim offensively in his time back.
- In his six games back, Ward is averaging 8.7 points with 4.8 boards.
Ward, Curtis Jones, Jackson Paveletzke, Demarion Watson and Omaha Biliew make up the bench unit for the Cyclones.
C. Jones had seven steals last time out, tying him for the second-most steals in a single game in Iowa State history.
- It's the first time ever that two Cyclones recorded games with seven-plus steals in a single season.
As a head coach, Otz is 154-94 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 55-31 record over the last three seasons.

From the Notes:

Iowa State is coming off of a 73-72 road win over No. 19 TCU in a game which the Cyclones forced a program best 27 turnovers in a Big 12 game.
- The win over TCU marked the 20th all-time road win over a top 25 opponent for the Cyclones.
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 Tuesday, the Cyclones are ranked No. 10 in the NET. The Cyclones slot in at No. 12 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.
Iowa State's last two home games resulted in wins for the Cyclones, as they downed No. 2 Houston and Oklahoma State to remain a perfect 11-0 at home.

Switching Sides:

The Wildcats were picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, one spot ahead of Iowa State.
Of its 13-man roster, five are returners, three are freshmen and five are first-year transfers.
- Just three of the five returners are lettermen from last year's postseason team - Cam Carter, David N'Guessan and Jerrell Colbert.
- Of those first-year transfers are guard Tylor Perry and wing Arthur Kaluma, who, along with Carter, make up the "Big Three." The trio of Wildcats make up 62 percent of the team's scoring.
Perry, the reigning Conference USA Player of the Year, leads the Big 12 in free throw percentage and minutes played.
Carter is one of just two remaining starters from last year's Elite Eight team, as he started all 36 games last season.
- Carter leads K-State in scoring and steals.
K-State is currently ranked No. 56 in KenPom, No. 71 in the NET and No. 45 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index.
Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang is in his second season at the helm of the Wildcat basketball program. Tang is 40-14 with KSU and is coming off a season where he helped guide K-State to the Elite Eight.
- Overall, Tang is 42-14 in his career.
  - He was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year last season.
- Tang was an assistant coach at Baylor for 19 seasons.
  - He is 6-10 all-time in Hilton between the Bears and Wildcats.

No. 23 Iowa State vs. Kansas State Primer

Players Mentioned

Omaha Biliew

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Jackson Paveletzke

Hason Ward

Demarion Watson

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Iowa State University Athletics

No. 23 Iowa State vs. Kansas State Primer

Players Mentioned

Omaha Biliew

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Jackson Paveletzke

Hason Ward

Demarion Watson

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