2024-25 Season Opener: Mississippi Valley State Primer

Who: No. 5 Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Mississippi Valley State (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)

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

When: Monday, Nov. 4, 2024 – 7 p.m. CT

Watch/Listen: ESPN+ / Cyclone Radio Network

Tipping Off: Coming off their second Sweet 16 in the last three seasons, the fifth-ranked Cyclones will open up the 2024-25 campaign against Mississippi Valley State on Monday night. Iowa State will look to win its seventh straight home opener, as the Cyclones are 25-1 in season-openers over the past 26 years.

ISU will look to build upon a successful 23-24 season, which featured the Cyclones going 29-8, earning the second-most single-season wins in team history. Iowa State made the Sweet 16 for the seventh time ever and also won the Big 12 Championship for the fifth time in the last ten tournaments.

Mississippi Valley State comes into the opener after a year it'd like to forget, as the Delta Devils were 1-30 last season. MVSU will attempt to earn its first victory in a season lid-lifter since 1996, when it bested Jacksonville State on the road.

Game Note: We ask that those attending Monday night's season opener wear their respective cardinal or gold attire to help us STRIPE HILTON. The above link shows which section is to wear what color.

Storylines:

Iowa State returns its top four scorers from last season, as 66 percent of its scoring production returns.
Tamin Lipsey was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season, as well as a First Team All-Big 12 member and a member of the league's All-Defensive Team.
- He led the team in rebounds, assists and steals last season while being the team's second-highest scorer.
Keshon Gilbert, the team's leading scorer in 2023-24, returns for his senior season.
- Gilbert was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player last season and also earned recognition on both the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer team.
Along with Gilbert, Curtis Jones returns for his fifth season.
- Jones was one of the most dynamic sixth-men in the country last year, as he scored in double-figures in 17 of the final 19 games off the bench.
Dynamic sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic also returns for ISU, rounding out the team's top four scorers from a year ago.
- Momcilovic earned All-Championship team accolades last year as well as All-Freshman Team recognition.
Iowa State will look to add five newcomers to the fold this year, as Nate Heise, Dishon Jackson, Joshua Jefferson, Brandton Chatfield and Nojus Indrusaitis will all be in their first year in the program,
Demarion Watson is back for his junior year along with redshirt freshmen JT Rock and Kayden Fish. Fan favorites Conrad Hawley and Cade Kelderman also return.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, T.J. Otzelberger is 169-98 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 70-35 record over the last three seasons.
Under Otz, ISU is 37-8 against non-conference opponents. The 38 wins are tied for the seventh-most in the nation and the .822 winning percentage is the sixth best.
Iowa State has won 18 straight home games at Hilton Coliseum, tied for the fourth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to take multiple teams to the Sweet 16.
- Otz will attempt to become the first coach in program history to take a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first four years as coach.
Iowa State enters the season ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press.
- It's the highest ISU has been ranked going into a season ever.
- It's just the third time that Iowa State has been a preseason top-10 AP team.
- The last time Iowa State played a regular season game as a top-five team was in 2015 against UNI in Des Moines.
Iowa State will play in its 54th season at Hilton Coliseum this year. The Cyclones won their 600th game in the building against Iowa last year.
The Cyclones are 27-1 under T.J. Otzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
ISU finished last season ranked No. 8 in KenPom, No. 6 in the NET and No. 5 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index. This year, ISU slots in at No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll.

Switching Sides:

Iowa State and Mississippi Valley State will meet for the eighth time Monday evening. All seven previous matchups have taken place in Ames, with the Cyclones winning every game by an average margin of 31.
MVSU will look to earn its first road win since February 4, 2023, when it won at Jackson State.
The Delta Devil roster consists of six first-year transfers as well as three freshmen. Donovan Sanders, Walter Hamilton, Markell Petro, George Ivory III, Alvin Stredic and Daniel Umoh all return.
Mississippi Valley State Head Coach George Ivory is in his fourth year at the helm of the Delta Devil program. Ivory is 6-60 with MVSU and is coming off a season where the team finished 1-30 (1-17 SWAC).
- Overall, Ivory is 133-329 in his 17-year head coaching career which also includes a 13-year stint at UAPB.
- Ivory is a former Delta Devil men's basketball player and is the program's all-time career assists leader.
MVSU finished last season ranked No. 362 in KenPom, No. 362 in the RPI and No. 362 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

2024-25 Season Opener: Mississippi Valley State Primer

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brandton Chatfield

Kayden Fish

Keshon Gilbert

Conrad Hawley

Nate Heise

Nojus Indrusaitis

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Cade Kelderman

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

JT Rock

Demarion Watson

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Iowa State University Athletics

2024-25 Season Opener: Mississippi Valley State Primer

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brandton Chatfield

Kayden Fish

Keshon Gilbert

Conrad Hawley

Nate Heise

Nojus Indrusaitis

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Cade Kelderman

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

JT Rock

Demarion Watson

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