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Men's Basketball
Creighton (Exhibition)
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Iowa State University Athletics
Saturday, January 11
Lubbock, Texas
1:00 PM
Iowa State University
14-1,4-0Big 12
85
at
84
Texas Tech
11-4,2-2Big 12
1
2
OT 1
F
Iowa St.
34
40
11
85
Texas Tech
40
34
10
84
Photo by: Gavin Daly / Texas Tech
No. 3 ISU Wins 11th-Straight in Lubbock OT Thriller
01.11.2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – No. 3 Iowa State (14-1, 4- Big 12) left Lubbock victorious Saturday afternoon, earning an 85-84 overtime victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-4, 2-2 Big 12) and notching its eleventh-straight win. For the Cyclones, it was their first win in Lubbock since 2019 and the team's first road overtime game since the last trip to Lubbock in 2023.
The Red Raiders tested Iowa State thoroughly on the day, racking up a 13-point lead in the first half and threatening to run away with things. But, as has been the story so far this season, the Cyclones showed their resolve as the team battled all the way back to earn a hard-fought road win to start the conference slate 4-0. Under Coach Otzelberger, this is the second time the team has begun conference play 4-0 – which has only happened four times in program history.
After going into the break down six, Iowa State whittled away at the Red Raider lead in the second half, eventually pulling even with the home team by the ten-minute mark. The Cyclones would take their first lead with 9:24 left in the game, but both teams would trade baskets and stops down the stretch.
Eventually finding itself down two with six seconds left, ISU inbounded the ball and raced down the court. Tamin Lipsey would dump a drive off to Joshua Jefferson who would lay it in as time expired to send the game to OT knotted at 74-all. In overtime, the two teams continued to trade baskets and stops. TTU took a one-point lead with 15 seconds left, but a pair of Jefferson free throws put ISU back in front with four seconds remaining. Tech inbounded from the freebies and went the distance but saw its layup attempt bounce off back iron as ISU earned its third road win of the season.
Curtis Jones and Jefferson were massive for the Cyclones. Jones notched his sixth 20-plus point outing off the bench, the most in the country, to pace the team with 26 points. Jefferson, on the other hand, was consistent and clutch for the 'Clones. Jefferson had 17 points, including five big free throws. Keshon Gilbert chipped in 14, while Tamin Lipsey had nine points and four steals.
Tech's Chance McMillian and JT Toppin led the Red Raiders with 18 points. Freshman Chris Anderson went 4-4 from deep for TTU, while Darrion Williams recorded 15 points.
How it Happened
The Red Raiders came out of the gates hot, spearheaded by forward JT Toppin. Tech ran out to a 12-4 lead in the first four minutes, with Toppin scoring eight of the 12 and shooting a perfect 3-3 from the floor.
Texas Tech's lead hovered around four until the eight-minute mark, when it ballooned to 12 points. The Cyclones had only lost the rebound battle twice this season prior to today as they were getting crushed on the board in the first half (15-4 in favor of TTU 12 minutes in), sparking the Red Raider run.
After going up 26-14, Tech saw the Cyclones make a run of their own. ISU outscored the Red Raiders 14-5 over the next four minutes, pulling within three, 28-31, just after the under-four timeout.
A first half of runs had another in it, as the home team rallied back to push back ahead by 10 with two minutes left in the stanza. Jones finished the half strong for ISU, scoring five points to help ISU trim the lead to six. The Cyclones came close to trimming it to three, as a Lipsey steal nearly resulted in a triple before the buzzer.
At the break, ISU shot better from the floor but was held scoreless from deep while the Red Raiders buried five. TTU was also plus-eight in the rebound margin. A usually sure-shooting team from the charity stripe, the Cyclones shot just 54 percent in the first half, well below their season average of 75.
Tech was ready for ISU out of the locker room, as they held off ISU's early attempt at a second-half run. Still, though, the Cyclones battled, eventually working the lead into extinction by the 10:14 mark. Tech star JT Toppin twisted an ankle and point guard Elijah Hawkins picked up his fourth foul early, limiting the Red Raiders to start the half.
Iowa State took its first lead of the game, 58-55, at the 9:24 mark off a Lipsey triple, but Tech responded in a big way, ripping off a 7-0 run to regain control. ISU eventually fought back to tie it up at 66 apiece with just over five minutes left.
Tech held control all the way down the stretch, never surrendering the lead, but costly misses from the free throw line kept giving the Cyclones new life. Eventually, down just two, ISU was able to inbound to Lipsey with six seconds left before he raced the floor to find Jefferson and send the game to overtime.
The extra period was more of the same – a back-and-forth battle. Tied at 81-all with a minute left, Tech would take a one-point lead on a Williams free throw. ISU responded with a Jefferson putback with 30 seconds left to regain control. Williams again had the answer for Tech, corralling a missed Hawkins floater and putting it home to give TTU a one-point lead with 15 ticks remaining. ISU again fed Jefferson in the clutch, as he was fouled while shooting. He calmly knocked down a pair to put the Cyclones back in front.
From there, they gave Williams the ball as he drove the length of the floor and pushed a floater off the back of the rim, missing as time expired.
Key Performer
Curtis Jones may have led the team in points, but Joshua Jefferson was clutch when it counted for the Cyclones. The third-year big man not only had the game-tying layup as time expired but knocked down a pair of free throws with under five seconds left in overtime to give the Cyclones the lead.
Notes
- Iowa State's 14-1 record is tied with the 2013-14 team for the best 15-game start in school history.      Â
- The Cyclones are now 28-8 playing as an AP Top 5 team.
- T.J. Otzelberger is now tied with Larry Eustachy for the second-most wins in the first four years as Iowa State Head Coach with 84.
- First time winning back-to-back games over Texas Tech since winning three straight from 2016-18.
- Curtis Jones now has the 18th most 3-pointers in a Cyclone career (114), passing Gabe Kalscheur (113).
- Jones eclipsed 1,200 career points with his season high today.
- Dishon Jackson is now over 800 career points.
- Joshua Jefferson played in his 75th career game.
Up Next
Iowa State will be back in action this Wednesday, Jan. 15, when it returns to Hilton Coliseum to host the currently eleventh-ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Wednesday's game will be broadcast on ESPN 2 and is set to tip off at 6 p.m.
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Team Stats
IowaSt
TTU
FG%
.525
.424
3FG%
.353
.450
FT%
.708
.792
RB
31
37
TO
15
15
STL
11
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
26
FGM
8
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
14
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
2
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