PRIMER: No. 3 Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State

Who: Iowa State (15-0, 2-0 Big 12) vs. Oklahoma State (13-2, 1-1 Big 12)

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

When: Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026 – 3 p.m. CT

Watch: ESPN2 // John Schriffen (PxP) & King McClure (Analyst)

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

Tipping Off: Off to the best start in program history, Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum to host the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first of two meetings between the teams this January. ISU will look to extend its best start as well as its longest win streak in school annals, which sits at 15.

The Cyclones enter Saturday's contest coming off a road win at Baylor on Wednesday night. ISU earned just its fourth-ever win in Waco, as it earned its second road win of the season. Tamin Lipsey had a game-high 24 points, while Joshua Jefferson had a monster double-double with 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds.

Oklahoma State picked up its first Big 12 victory on Tuesday as it upended No. 25 UCF at Gallagher-Iba. The win snapped an 11-game winning streak by the Knights and moved the Cowboys to 11-0 at home this season. OSU's 11-game home winning streak is its longest since 2014.

Game Note: This season marks the 40^th anniversary of the 1986 Iowa State Men's Basketball NCAA Sweet 16 squad. The ISU Letterwinners Club and Cyclone Basketball will pay tribute to the 1984, 1985 and 1986 Cyclones in a special halftime recognition ceremony.

Storylines:

At No. 3 in the AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 41 straight weeks, the fifth-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 115, 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.
  - Lipsey has picked up a pair of weekly conference awards, as he was named to the Big 12 Starting Five on both 11/17 and 11/24.
- 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 was named Big 12 Player of the Week after scoring a team-high 20 points in ISU's road win at No. 1 Purdue.
  - He earned his second Big 12 weekly honor, being named to the Starting Five on Jan. 5 after pouring in eight triples against WVU.
- 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).
  - Jefferson was named to the Big 12 Starting Five on 12/30, picking up his second conference weekly award. He was named to the Starting Five again on Jan. 5 after recording the ninth triple-double in school history against WVU.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 209-108 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 110-45 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.
With its road win over No. 1 Purdue, Iowa State now 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.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 3 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 2 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 5 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Oklahoma State and Iowa State will face off for the 142nd time this afternoon. The Cowboys hold a 73-68 all-time advantage over ISU but are just 18-42 in Hilton.
- OSU has won eight of the last ten meetings and three of the last four in Ames.
- Oklahoma State is one of just eight schools that Iowa State has faced over 100 times. The others include Kansas (260), K-State (242), Missouri (237), Nebraska (234), Oklahoma (217), Drake (175) and Colorado (151).
The Cowboys are among the nation's best at getting to the charity stripe. Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in both free throws attempted (26.7) and made (20.1) per game. The Cowboys are top 20 nationally in each category.
- OSU's Anthony Roy had a game earlier this year where he went 15-15 from the line and is currently riding a 38-straight made free throw streak.
The Cowboys were picked to finish 12th out of 16 in the Big 12 men's basketball preseason poll after finishing tied for 12th last season.
Oklahoma State Head Coach Steve Lutz is in his second season coaching the Cowboys and owns a 30-20 record during his time in Stillwater.
- Lutz holds a 99-55 all-time record in his head coaching career, which includes stops at Western Kentucky (22-12) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (47-23).
- Prior to becoming a head coach, Lutz was an assistant under Greg McDermott at Creighton (2010-17) and Matt Painter at Purdue (2017-21).
Oklahoma State is ranked No. 66 in the NET. The Cowboys are No. 58 in KenPom and No. 74 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

PRIMER: No. 3 Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics

PRIMER: No. 3 Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Related Videos

Sponsors