Season Recap: Men's Basketball

AMES, Iowa - No. 8 Iowa State completed the fifth season under head coach T.J. Otzelberger with a 29-8 overall record and 12-6 record in the Big 12. The Cyclones finished at No. 8 in the final AP Top 25, marking the 13th time ISU has been ranked in the final poll and the 10th time being in the Top 20 of the final poll. It is the sixth time the Cyclones have been in the Top 10 of the final poll, tied for the second-highest final ranking in program history.

KEY STORYLINES

-At No. 8 in the final AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 52-straight weeks, the fourth-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 126, 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 30 weeks. It is the second-longest streak in school history behind the 61 weeks from 2014-17.
-ISU started the season 16-0, the best start and longest winning streak in school history. Iowa State won its 25th game in the regular season for just the third time in program history. The 29 wins for the Cyclones are tied for the second-most in school history.
-Otzelberger is the quickest coach in school history to 100 career wins, doing so in 145 games. Otz has 30 Top 25 victories at ISU, the most of any coach in program history. His 124 wins are the most in the first five years in ISU history.
-Joshua Jefferson averaged 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Jefferson was the only Power Conference player in the country to average those numbers. Only six other players in NCAA Division I have done so in an entire season dating back to 1974-75 (including Penny Hardaway, Larry Bird and Ben Simmons) and none in the Big 12.
-Jefferson earned All-American honors from all four major outlets, becoming the fifth consensus All-American in program history and the first since Georges Niang in 2016.
-He was told to hunt 3-pointers, and he's done just that! Of Milan Momcilovic's 18 career games with 20-plus points, 15 came this season. ISU is 14-4 all-time in those games. When he hits multiple 3-pointers in a game, ISU is 55-14 in his career. His 136 3-pointers this season are the most in program history, while his .487 percentage from downtown is also the best in school history.
-Tamin Lipsey averaged 11.0 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game in his career. He is one of three players since 1947-48 to average those numbers in a career while playing at least 135 games. He is one of just two from a Power Conference to do so. His 314 career steals are the most in program history and the third-most in Big 12 history.
-Freshman Killyan Toure was making waves in his freshman campaign. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He was one of 11 freshmen in the country to average those numbers.
-Junior Blake Buchanan is averaging 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 blocked shots and 0.8 steals per game. Only three other Cyclones have averaged those numbers in a season going back to 1996-97 and none since Deonte Burton in 2016-17.

Players Mentioned

Blake Buchanan

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Killyan Toure

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics