No. 10 Iowa State at UCF Primer

Who: No. 10 Iowa State (18-5, 8-4 Big 12) at UCF (13-10, 4-8 Big 12)

Where: Addition Financial Arena (9,432) – Orlando, Fla.

When: Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025 – 6 p.m. CT

Watch/Listen: ESPN+ / Cyclone Radio Network

Tipping Off: Fresh off a 30-point victory over the league's strongest defense in TCU, Iowa State looks to continue the momentum as it heads to Orlando for a meeting with UCF. The Cyclones, who got Milan Momcilovic back last time out, look to climb back into the Big 12 title race as the season hits the homestretch with eight regular season games left.

A balanced effort helped No. 8 Iowa State to a dominant 82-52 win over TCU in Hilton Coliseum last time out. Four Cyclones scored in double figures, led by Curtis Jones who had a game-high 24 points. The Cyclones hosted ESPN's College GameDay for the second time in program history prior to tip-off, moving to 2-0 with the show in Ames. In 2015, the No. 11 Cyclones beat No. 9 Kansas 86-81 in front of a sold-out crowd.

UCF lost its fourth straight game and sixth over the last seven on Saturday with a 91-76 loss at Baylor. The Knights will look to claim their first win of February on Tuesday, as well as their second ranked win of the season. Their previous win over a ranked team came in the season's opening game – a 64-61 victory over Texas A&M at home.

Storylines:

Iowa State's "sixth starter," Curtis Jones, had become an actual starter the last couple of times out, filling in for an injury. After being inserted into the starting lineup, Jones earned a Big 12 Player of the Week award and was also named to the Jerry West Award Top 10 List. With a fully healthy lineup, Jones has returned to the bench.
Keshon Gilbert, the team's "engine," has taken a leap in his second season as a Cyclone, leading the team in minutes and assists. He has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice this season, was added to the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List and was named to the Bob Cousy Award Top 10.
A Preseason All-Big 12 First Team selection, Tamin Lipsey has been the glue of Iowa State's team. A known defensive menace, Lipsey leads the team in steals and is close to becoming the school's all-time steals leader.
Saint Mary's transfer Joshua Jefferson has been a revelation for the Cyclones this season. Jefferson leads the team in rebounding, has nine double-doubles and has earned five Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards.
Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic averages just over 10 points per game and shoots the 3-ball at the highest clip on the team at 45.5 percent. After missing just about a month of game action due to injury, he returned to the starting lineup on Feb. 8 against TCU.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 187-103 overall and has guided the Cyclones to an 88-40 record over the last four years.
- ISU is 57-9 in games at Hilton Coliseum under Otz. His 57 home wins during that time are tied for the 9th-most nationally.
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.
- 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 has been ranked in the AP Top 10 for 22 straight weeks, the longest streak in the country.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 10 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 8 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 7 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Iowa State and UCF are meeting for just the third time ever, with all three coming in the last two years.
- The Cyclones are 2-0 against UCF, winning both once on the road and at home.
The Knights were picked to finish 11th out of 16 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
UCF allows, on average, the most points per game by any Big 12 team (79.9).
The Knights are one of six teams in the Power 4 and Big East to have three 14.0+ points per game scorers this season: joined by Creighton, Texas Tech, Stanford, Northwestern and Notre Dame.
- The trio of Keyshawn Hall (18.3), Darius Johnson (15.0) and Jordan Ivy-Curry (14.3) combine for 59.6% of UCF's points, tallying an average of 47.6 PPG of UCF's average of 79.8.
ISU Director of Operations Micah Byars was an assistant coach at UCF from 2005-11 prior to joining the Cyclones. In 2009, Byars coached Jermaine Taylor, the C-USA Player of the Year and the No. 32 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins is in his ninth season at the helm of the Knight basketball program. Dawkins is 161-113 with UCF and is 317-228 in his 17-year coaching career which began with an eight-year stint at Stanford.
- Dawkins, a 2023 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, played at Duke (1982-86), where he finished his four-year career as the school's all-time leading scorer and the national player of the year after his senior campaign before heading to the NBA for a nine-year career.
TCU is ranked No. 72 in the NET. The Horned Frogs are No. 67 in KenPom and No. 67 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics