No. 8 Iowa State vs. Oklahoma Primer

Who: No. 8 Iowa State (21-6, 10-4 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma (19-8, 7-7 Big 12)

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

When: Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 – 7 p.m.

Tipping Off: Winners of eight of their last 10, Iowa State is set to close the month of February with its second-straight home game against Oklahoma. The Cyclones have won double-digit conference games for just the tenth time in program history, dating back to 1907.

This will be the 216th all-time meeting between Iowa State and Oklahoma. The Sooners lead the all-time series, but ISU has won 12 of the last 14 games in Ames. It will be the final meeting between the two teams in a series that dates all the way back to 1922 as OU is set to move to the SEC this summer.

Storylines:

UNLV transfer Keshon Gilbert, a St. Louis native, averages a team-best 14.1 points per game and really hit his stride in the latter half of the season.
- Over the last 11 games, he's averaging 15.7 points and 5.3 boards with 3.1 assists per game.
- 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.
- Gilbert is second in the Big 12 in free throws attempted (145) and seventh in FT made (104).
  - He is second on the team in assists (110) and third in steals (44).
- Gilbert has two Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards to his name this season.
- He's recorded a team-best seven 20-plus point outings.
Tamin Lipsey has been his usual stat-stuffer self for the Cyclones so far this year, as the Ames native is averaging 12.8 points per game to go along with team-highs in assists (141) and steals (73).
- Lipsey leads all Big 12 players in steals and steals per game.
  - He is seventh and fifth respectively, nationally, in those categories.
- 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.
  - He has recorded a steal in all but two games in his career.
- 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.
Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic has been a constant during his rookie campaign, as the first-year from Pewaukee is averaging 11.8 points per game – the third-most on the team.
- 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.
Curtis Jones has been stellar off the bench the whole season but especially in the last ten outings, establishing himself as the team's sixth man.
- He's scored in double figures in all ten contests, averaging 13.7 points.
- Jones joins Tyrus McGee as the only ISU players since 2012 to score in double-figures nine-straight games off the bench.
- He had seven steals at TCU earlier this season in his lone start, 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.
Robert Jones leads the team in offensive rebounds (67), field goal percentage (63.3%) and blocks (24).
Tre King leads the team in rebounds, as the senior out of Lexington, Ky., averages 5.1 per game and has a total of 137 boards.
Hason Ward, C. Jones, Jackson Paveletzke, Demarion Watson and Omaha Biliew make up the bench unit for the Cyclones.
Iowa State forces the second-most turnovers per game (17.89) in the country – tops in the Big 12.
- The Cyclones average 10.6 steals per game, also tops in the Big 12.
As a head coach, Otz is 161-96 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 62-33 record over the last three seasons.

From the Notes:

Iowa State has won 16 straight games at Hilton Coliseum, the seventh-longest active home winning streak in the country.
- Iowa State is winning its home Big 12 matchups by an average of 10.6 points.
Iowa State has held all but one Big 12 opponent under its season scoring average.
Iowa State ranks second in the nation in turnover percentage at 26 percent. ISU has been in the top six in the country in each of Otzelberger's seasons, ranking sixth in 2022 (24.6%) and second in 2023 (25%).
Iowa State is one of four schools in the country, and the only Power Six school, to force 25 or more turnovers in multiple games against NCAA Division I opponents this season.
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.
The Cyclones are 26-1 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.
As of Tuesday, the Cyclones are ranked No. 8 in the NET. The Cyclones slot in at No. 11 in the KenPom rankings and are No. 8 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

OU was picked to finish 12th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, just ahead of league newcomers BYU and UCF.
The Sooners return six players from last year's roster, adding two freshmen and welcoming seven first-year transfers.
Oklahoma guard Javian McCollum leads the team in scoring in his first year with the program, transferring in this offseason after two years at Siena.
- McCollum helped OU win its final game in Stillwater as Big 12 foes over the weekend, burying a stepback 3-pointer at the buzzer against OSU.
- He leads all Big 12 players in free throw percentage, knocking down 94 percent of his attempts.
  - That percentage ranks top 10 nationally amongst all players.
Senior Dam Godwin pulls down a league-best 3.1 offensive rebounds per game for the Sooners.
Oklahoma is 17-2 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 16-1 when holding its opponents to 70 points or less.
The Sooners are 2-5 when facing ranked opponents this season and match up with the No. 8 and No. 1 team in their next two games.
Oklahoma head coach Porter Moser is in his third year at the helm of the Sooner program. Moser is 53-41 with OU and is 346-283 overall in his 20-year coaching career.
- Sooner assistant coach Clayton Custer played his freshman season in Ames (2014-15) before transferring to Loyola Chicago where he played for Coach Moser. The two made the Final Four in 2018.
  - Custer averaged 1.1 points per game in his lone ISU season.
OU is ranked No. 39 in the NET. The Sooners are No. 38 in KenPom and No. 33 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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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