PRIMER: Iowa State vs. Southern - Iowa State Athletics

Who: Iowa State (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Southern (0-3, 0-0 SWAC)
Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,267) – Ames, Iowa
When: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026 – 7 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN+ // BJ Schaben (PxP), Derrin Hansen (Analyst), Shannon Ehrhardt (sideline)
Listen: Cyclone Radio Network // John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

Tipping Off:
Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum for the second home game of the season, facing the Southern Jaguars Tuesday night. The Cyclones are fresh off an 83-57 victory over Southern Miss, the ninth-straight home-opening victory for Iowa State.

Iowa State bounced back in its home-opener against Southern Miss, defeating the Golden Eagles by 26 points. Tre Singleton had a double-double in the win and currently leads the Big 12 in rebounds.

It's a quick turnaround for the Jaguars, as they just played against Drake in Des Moines on Sunday, a 75-68 victory for the Bulldogs. Southern will already be playing its fourth contest in the last nine days.

Storylines:

Iowa State had been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 53 straight polls, the third-longest streak in the nation before Monday's updated rankings. Iowa State's 53-week streak was the second-longest in program history.
Under Coach Otzelberger, the Cyclones have been known for their defense, as they have ranked as a top-15 unit in the country each of the last six years, finishing ranked fifth in 2025-26.
Under Otz, ISU is 64-12 against non-conference opponents. His 64 wins are the eighth-most in the nation, and his .842 winning percentage is the fourth-best
After losing some high-impact contributors from last year in the offseason, Tamin Lipsey returns. The Ames native is back for a fifth season and will once again run the show for Coach Otzelberger.
- Lipsey was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team.
Killyan Toure was named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List.
The Cyclones were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, which is voted on by the league's coaches.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 224-117 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 125-54 record during his time in Ames.
- Otz earned both his 100th win at Iowa State and his 200th as a head coach last season.
- His 118 wins are the most in the first five years in ISU history.
- Otz became the quickest coach in school history to 100 career wins, doing so in 145 games.
Otz has led Iowa State to four 20-plus win seasons, joining Orr (5) and Hoiberg (4) as the only ISU coaches to do so four-plus times.
ISU is 77-11 in games at Hilton Coliseum under Otzelberger. ISU's 77 home wins during that time are tied for the fourth-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.
- In five postseason appearances, Otzelberger has seven NCAA Tournament wins – the most by any coach in program history.
Otz currently holds the school's highest winning percentage by a head coach.
- He has led ISU to 30 wins over AP Top 25 teams, the most by an ISU coach in school history.
As of Monday, Iowa State slots in at No. 13 in the KenPom rankings and No. 7 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Southern and Iowa State will meet for the fifth time, with each meeting coming in Ames. ISU is 4-0 all-time and holds an average margin of victory of 25.3 over the Jaguars.
- The last time Iowa State faced Southern, ISU freshman Tyrese Haliburton dished a school record 17 assists. Haliburton's record-breaking passing output toppled ISU radio analyst Eric Heft's then-44-year-old record.
Southern was picked to finish second out of 12 in the SWAC Preseason Poll, a season following its second-place finish in 2025-26.
The Jaguars return just two players, Cam Amboree and Lionel Bell, from last year's team. That's roughly 12.4% of the team's minutes and 10.9% of the team's points back.
SU will look to notch its first win over a Power 4 team since it bested No. 21 Mississippi State on the road in 2023.
Southern head coach Kevin Johnson is in his fourth season at the helm of the Jaguar basketball program. Johnson owns a 120-146 all-time coaching record, which includes a six-year stint at Centenary and is 55-46 during his time in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with SU.
- Prior to his hire at Southern, Johnson was part of Ron Hunter's inaugural staff at Tulane, where he was an assistant for four seasons before taking over the Jaguar program.
- Johnson also has stops as an assistant coach at many other Louisiana-based schools, including Louisiana, Nicholls, La Tech, Centenary and Northwestern State.
As of Monday, Southern is No. 278 in the KenPom rankings and No. 298 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Tamin Lipsey

Tre Singleton

Killyan Toure

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics