No. 23 Iowa State vs. No. 7 Kansas Primer

Who: No. 23 Iowa State (15-4, 4-2 Big 12) vs. No. 7 Kansas (16-3, 4-2 Big 12)

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

When: Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024 – 12:30 p.m.

Tipping Off: Riding a two-game win streak, Iowa State is set to welcome its second-straight visitor from the Sunflower State – seventh-ranked Kansas – this Saturday for a nationally broadcast Saturday matinee on CBS. The Jayhawks will be Iowa State's fifth, ranked Big 12 team that it's played through the first month of league play.

Iowa State and Kansas are meeting for the 258th time this afternoon. KU holds the series advantage and has won eight of the last ten meetings. Kansas Coach Bill Self has done well to handle the Magic, as he is 14-6 in Hilton Coliseum.

Storylines:

Tamin Lipsey has been the catalyst for the Cyclones so far this year, as the Ames native is averaging a team-best 14.1 points per game. He leads the team in field goals made (87), assists (101), steals (58) and minutes played.
- Lipsey returned from injury last time out, scoring eight points with six assists against Kansas State.
- Lipsey leads all Big 12 players in steals and steals per game.
  - He is third and second respectively, nationally, in those categories.
  - He has a steal in 31 straight games, the longest streak in ISU history and the second longest current streak in the nation.
- 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 13.6 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 (105) and fourth in FT made (76).
  - He is second on the team in both assists (82) and third in steals (33).
- 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 13.3 points per game.
- Momcilovic has a team-high 39 3-pointers and shoots it at a 39.8 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 (42), field goal percentage (66.7%) and blocks (17).
Tre King leads the team in rebounds, as the senior out of Lexington, Ky., averages 5.3 per game and has a total of 101 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.
Ward, Curtis Jones, Jackson Paveletzke, Demarion Watson and Omaha Biliew make up the bench unit for the Cyclones.
C. Jones has been steallar off the bench in the last two games.
- He's averaging 17.5 points over his last two outings along with 4.5 steals.
- He had seven steals against TCU, 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 155-94 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 56-31 record over the last three seasons.

From the Notes:

Winners of four of its last five, Iowa State will look to maintain its perfect season at Hilton Coliseum against its second top-10 team it's faced this season.
- The Cyclones are a perfect 12-0 at home this season, defeating all three conference opponents they've faced so far by an average of 13 points.
The last time these two teams met in Hilton, Iowa State held Kansas to its lowest point total ever in a Big 12 game under Bill Self, as the Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks 68-53.
Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert each have triple-doubles to their names this season - making ISU the only team in the country with multiple players boasting a triple-double.
- There are now eight in school history.
Today is the first time the Cyclones have been on CBS during the regular season since Feb. 17, 2001, when the team hosted No. 6 Kansas. ISU was last on CBS in 2016 against Virginia as part of the NCAA Tournament.
As of Friday, 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 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.

Switching Sides:

The Jayhawks were picked to finish first in the Big 12 Preseason Poll for the eighth time in the last 10 seasons.
KU returns eight total players from last season, five of which saw time. KU also brought in three freshmen to pair along with five first-year transfers.
Kansas saw both Dajuan Harris Jr. and Hunter Dickinson named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team with Kevin McCullar Jr. earning Honorable Mention honors.
- McCullar Jr. (#1) and Dickinson (#2) lead the Big 12 in scoring, Harris Jr. leads the conference in assists and Dickinson also leads the league in rebounds.
Like Iowa State, Kansas also has two triple-doubles this season, with both coming from McCullar Jr. in back-to-back contests. He is tied for the most triple-doubles in the country.
KU leads the conference in field goal percentage (50.8) as well as total assists (20.8) per game.
Kansas is currently ranked No. 18 in KenPom, No. 16 in the NET and No. 18 in ESPN's College Basketball Power Index.
Kansas head coach Bill Self is in his 21st season at the helm of the Jayhawk basketball program. Self is 581-135 with KU and is 788-240 in his 31-year coaching career.
- Self and the Jayhawks are just two years removed from a National Championship.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Omaha Biliew

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Jackson Paveletzke

Hason Ward

Demarion Watson

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics