No. 18 Cyclones Stomp Northwestern in Final Tune-Up

Sunday, October 25

Evanston, Ill.

12:30 PM (New Time)

Iowa State

0-0,0-0Big 12

Northwestern (Exhibition)

0-0,0-0Big Ten

Team	1	2	F
Iowa St.	45	49	94
Northwestern	18	41	59

Photo by: Iowa State Athletics

10.25.2026 | Men's Basketball

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EVANSTON, Ill. – In its final exhibition contest, 18th-ranked Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) handled Northwestern (0-0, 0-0 Big Ten) on the road, winning 94-59.

After dropping their first exhibition to Creighton, the Cyclones bounced back with authority on Sunday afternoon as they earned a 35-point victory in the Chicago suburb. The Cyclones led wire-to-wire and used an early 15-0 run in the first half to pace the day.

Ryan Prather Jr. was the story for the Cyclones, as the Robert Morris transfer was near perfect from the field as he hit six-of-seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points to lead all scorers. After missing the first exhibition, Tamin Lipsey tallied 14 points with seven assists, while Tre Singleton chipped in 10 points in his return to Evanston. Dominykas Pleta (14) and Jaquan Johnson (10) also finished in double figures, while Blake Buchanan had eight points with 10 boards.

For Northwestern, Jake West had a team-high 21 points, while fellow returning starter Angelo Ciaravino finished with 13. L.A. Pratt corralled a team-best seven rebounds and dished an NU-high five helpers.

Iowa State shot 53 percent from the floor and was 8-16 from beyond the arc. ISU owned the rebounding advantage (44-31) as well as the second-chance points edge (18-11). The Cyclone bench was the biggest story as it chipped in 45 of the team's 94 points while the Wildcats received just eight points from their reserves.

How it Happened
An early 5-0 lead for the Cyclones quickly turned into a 19-point advantage by the 11:33 mark of the first stanza as ISU was rolling early both offensively and defensively. A 15-0 run over a three-minute stretch powered the early momentum for Iowa State.

ISU continued to roll through the remainder of the first half, as the offense kept shipping away and the defense limited NU to just three made field goals over the last 10 minutes of the stanza.

ISU led 45-18 at the break, with Prather Jr. leading the way with 13 points. While ISU was shooting 56 percent from the floor, Northwestern was held to just 13 percent. The Cyclones were plus-eight on the glass and were outscoring the Northwestern bench 23-0.

The second half was more of the same for the Cyclones who, after weathering an early NU run, extended their lead to as large as 36 before going on to win by 35.

Key Performer

It was a shooting clinic for Ryan Prather Jr. on Sunday afternoon as he went 7-for-8 from the floor and a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe. He accounted for 75 percent of the team's triples. On top of the shot-making, Prather Jr. also collected four rebounds in the win.

Up Next
Results will matter next time the Cyclones take the floor as they travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., to take on Memphis for a neutral-site contest in the season opener. Iowa State will face the Tigers at 6 p.m., and the game will be televised on FS1.