PRIMER: No. 5 Iowa State at TCU

Who: Iowa State (21-2, 8-2 Big 12) at TCU (14-9, 4-6 Big 12)

Where: Schollmaier Arena (6,800) – Fort Worth, Texas

When: Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 – 8 p.m. CT

Watch: FS1 // Rob Stone (PxP) & Casey Jacobsen (Analyst)

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

Tipping Off: Freshly back in the AP Top 5, Iowa State will head to Fort Worth to take on the TCU Horned Frogs before a massive homestand against No. 9 Kansas and No. 3 Houston.

The Cyclones took care of business last time out, defeating Baylor at home, 72-69. ISU led by as many as 15 points with three minutes remaining, but a late spurt from the Bears made things closer.

TCU will be playing in its second consecutive home contest, as it enters Tuesday's matchup coming off a two-point win over Kansas State over the weekend. The Horned Frogs have won three of their last five and, according to ESPN's BPI, have the easiest remaining schedule of all Big 12 teams.

Storylines:

At No. 5 in the AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 46 straight weeks, the fifth-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 120, 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 25 weeks.
- ISU has been in the AP Top 5 for 27 weeks in program history, with 18 coming under Coach Otzelberger.
The Cyclones started the season 16-0, the best start in school history. ISU is now 21-2 for the first time in program history, the best mark through 23 games by a Cyclone team.
In five seasons under Coach Otzelberger, the Cyclones have been known for their defense, as they have ranked as a top-15 unit in the country each year, and 2025-26 is no different (according to KenPom defensive rating).
The Cyclones had three players named to the Naismith Starting Five Midseason Top 10 Watch lists – Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson.
Joshua Jefferson has recorded two triple-doubles this season, tied for the most in the country.
- Jefferson became the first player in program history to have multiple triple-doubles in a career.
- He is just the third Big 12 player with multiple triple-doubles, but is the first to accomplish both in conference games.
Milan Momcilovic has been the nation's best marksman this season, as the junior leads the country in 3-point percentage.
- Momcilovic has six 25-plus point games so far this season for ISU.
Tamin Lipsey holds the most steals in program history and is in the top four in Big 12 history for career steals.
- He holds the most wins against Big 12 opponents by any active player.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 215-110 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 116-47 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 was the quickest coach in school history to 100 career wins, doing so in 145 games.
- 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 fifth-most in the nation during that stretch.
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.
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. 5 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 6 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 5 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

This will be the 33rd all-time meeting between Iowa State and TCU. The Cyclones lead the all-time series, 18-14, but the series is tied at seven apiece when played in Fort Worth.
Under Jamie Dixon in Schollmaier Arena, TCU is 126-46 overall and 49-37 in Big 12 games.
According to KenPom, TCU ranks 328th in average height. Based on that ranking, the Frogs are the second shortest among teams from power conferences. Seton Hall out of the Big East is 334th overall.
This season, TCU ranks fourth in the Big 12 and 33rd nationally with 15.1 fastbreak points per game.
- Over a three-year average (2022-25), TCU ranked first nationally in fastbreak points per game (15.6) and percentage of points in transition (21%).
The Horned Frogs were picked to finish tenth out of 16 in the Big 12 men's basketball preseason poll after finishing tied for ninth last season.
TCU Head Coach Jamie Dixon is in his 10th year at the helm of the Horned Frog program. Dixon is 190-135 with TCU and is 518-258 overall in his 23-year head coaching career, which began at Pittsburgh in 2003.
- Dixon has the second-most wins by a TCU head coach, just trailing Buster Brannon (204).
- Jamie Dixon has had the same five assistant coaches on his staff for the last five seasons. No other program in the nation has had the same head coach and five assistant coaches for a longer period of time.
TCU is ranked No. 53 in the NET. The Horned Frogs are No. 54 in KenPom and No. 56 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics