PRIMER: No. 4 Iowa State vs. Iowa

Who: Iowa State (9-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Iowa (8-1, 0-0 Big Ten)

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

When: Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025 – 7 p.m. CT

Watch: FS1 // Kevin Kugler (PxP) & Miles Simon (Analyst)

Listen: Cyclone Radio Network // John Walters (PxP) & Eric Heft (Analyst)

Tipping Off: The 2025-26 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series rolls on Thursday evening, as the fourth-ranked Iowa State Cyclones welcome first-year coach Ben McCollum and the Hawkeyes to James H. Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones will look to move to 10-0 for the fourth time in program history as Coach McCollum looks for his first Cy-Hawk win.

Iowa State enters Thursday's matchup coming off a historic win at Mackey Arena over No. 1 Purdue, winning 81-58. The Cyclones handed Purdue its worst home non-conference loss in program history and became the first team ever to beat multiple No. 1 teams by 20-plus points (the other against No. 1 Houston in the Big 12 Tournament in 2024).

The Hawkeyes are coming off a bounce-back win against Maryland, as they picked up their first conference win of the season. ISU will be Iowa's second top ten team in the last three contests, as the Hawkeyes opened Big Ten play at No. 7 Michigan State, falling to the Spartans by 19.

Game Note: Thursday's theme is "Color it Cardinal" as we ask all those attending to dress in your best cardinal Cyclone gear. At halftime, world-famous Red Panda will perform.

Storylines:

At No. 4 in the AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 38 straight weeks, the sixth-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 112, which is the longest streak in the country.
- The Cyclones and Cougars are the only two Big 12 schools to have streaks of at least 20 weeks.
The Cyclones had three players named to the Naismith Starting Five Preseason Watch lists. Iowa State was one of nine schools in the country to have at least three players named. Along with three selections on the women's side, ISU was one of just five schools in the country to have at least six combined selections.
- Tamin Lipsey was named to the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Watch List.
  - Lipsey is also on both the Wooden Award and Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch Lists.
- Milan Momcilovic was named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Watch List.
  - Momcilovic earned his first Big 12 weekly honor on Dec. 8, as he scored a team-high 20 points in ISU's road win at No. 1 Purdue.
- Joshua Jefferson was named to the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Watch List. Former Cyclone Georges Niang won the award in 2016.
  - Jefferson, like Lipsey, is also on the Oscar Robertson Trophy Watch List.
  - Jefferson was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 1 for his performance in his home city of Las Vegas, where he averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists across three games.
  - Jefferson became just the third player in the last 30 years to record consecutive 10-plus assist, zero turnover games (Syracuse & Alcorn State).

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 203-108 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 104-45 record over the last four years.
- He earned his 100th win at Iowa State against HOF coach Rick Pitino and No. 14 St. John's in the Players Era Championship opener on Nov. 24.
- He then earned his 200th win over his mentor and former head coach Greg McDermott on Nov. 25.
- His 95 wins in his first four years at Iowa State were the most by any coach in program history in their first four years as head coach.
Under Otz, ISU is 57-10 against non-conference opponents. His 57 wins are the tied for the eighth-most in the nation, and the .851 winning percentage is the fourth-best.
With Saturday's win over No. 1 Purdue, Iowa State has 27 wins over top 25 teams since Otzelberger took over (2021-22). That is tied for the fourth-most in the nation during that stretch.
Otz has led Iowa State to three 20-plus win seasons, joining Orr (5), Hoiberg (4), Floyd (3) and Prohm (3) as only ISU coaches to do so multiple times.
Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to take multiple teams to the Sweet 16.
- He was the 51st coach in NCAA Division I history to take a team to the Sweet 16 twice in his first three years on the job.
- In four postseason appearances, Otzelberger has five NCAA Tournament wins – the most by any coach in program history.
Otz currently holds the school's highest winning percentage by a head coach.
As of Tuesday morning, Iowa State slots in at No. 3 in both the NET rankings and the ESPN Basketball Power Index, while KenPom has it as the No. 2 team.

Switching Sides:

Iowa State and Iowa are meeting for the 79th time on Thursday. The Hawkeyes hold a 48-30 all-time advantage over the Cyclones, though ISU has won the last two meetings and is 3-1 against Iowa under Coach Otzelberger.
Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch is the lone returning scholarship player for Iowa. The Hawkeyes brought in four players from the high school ranks to pair with eight transfers.
- One of those transfers is preseason All-American Bennett Stirtz. Stirtz has been named to many prestigious watch lists and helped Drake to the Round of 32 last year as he earned both the MVC Player and Newcomer of the Year.
- Stirtz is the only member of the Hawkeye team to have played for McCollum at Northwest Missouri State, where they won a DII title in 2022. Cam Manyawu, Tavion Banks, Kael Combs, Isaia Howard and Joey Matteoni followed from Drake.
Iowa was picked to finish 8th out of 18 in the Big Ten Preseason Media Poll after finishing tied for 12th last season.
Earlier this season, the Hawkeyes held Grand Canyon to 46 points -the fewest the team has allowed since 2010.
Iowa Head Coach Ben McCollum is in his first season at the helm of the Hawkeye basketball program. McCollum holds a 433-96 record in his head coaching career that spans from Northwest Missouri State to Drake and now Iowa.
- The 23rd head coach in Iowa history, McCollum joined the Hawkeyes after shepherding Drake to the Round of 32 last year in his lone season in Des Moines. Previously, at NWMSU, McCollum won four Division II national titles.
- McCollum's teams have won 12 consecutive regular-season conference titles and 13 in the last 14 years, as his .819 winning percentage would rank fifth all-time.
Iowa is ranked No. 28 in the NET. The Hawkeyes are No. 26 in KenPom and No. 50 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics