Basic Information
Location: Ames, Iowa
Type of School: Public Land-Grant Research University
Conference: Big 12
Mascot: Cy the Cardinal
2024-’25 Season:
- 25-10 (13-7 in Big 12)
- #17 in the Final AP Poll
2024 – ‘25 NCAA Tournament:
- #3 Seed
- Lost to #6 Mississippi in the first round
Purdue Game Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
Purdue Game Date / Time: Saturday, December 6, 2025 / 12 PM EST
Head Coach – T.J. Otzelberger
Seasons at Iowa State: Entering his fifth season
Iowa State record: 95-45
Other Head Coaching Jobs:
- UNLV (2019-2021): 29-30
- South Dakota State (2016-2019): 70-33
Career Record: 194-108
Regular Season Conference Championships: 2
- South Dakota State: 2017-’18, 2018-‘19)
Conference Tournament Championships: 3
South Dakota State: 2016-’17, 2017-‘18
Iowa State: 2023-’24
Award(s):
Summit Coach of the Year: 2017-’18
NCAA Appearances: 6 (5-6)
Final 4 Appearances: 0
Personnel
Key Losses from 2024-’25
Key Returning Players from 2024-’25
Key Portal Additions
Key 2025 Recruits
2025-’26 Iowa State Cyclones Overview
Preseason KenPom Ranking: 13
Ken Pom Record Projection: 21-9
Projected Starting Lineup
The Cyclones received one of those preseason scares that sends everyone’s heart to the floor when star point guard Tamin Lipsey went down in practice with a knee injury in October. Luckily for Coach Otzelberger, Lipsey sprained his MCL and could be back in time to start the season.
It all starts at point guard with Tamin Lipsey. Last season was a down year for Lipsey, who battled through a few nagging injuries that kept him from hitting the elite form he achieved as a Sophomore. Now the hometown Ames kid is to run the show one more season. At his best, he’s a defensive menace who finished 4th in the nation in steal rate as a sophomore. On top of his defensive prowess, he’s a solid setup man on offense. He can score, but he’s at his best when he’s getting into the lane and putting one of Iowa State’s finishers in position to score. Lipsey vs Braden will be a premier early season point guard matchup.
Returning forwards Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson are two players who will gladly be on the receiving end of a Lipsey assist. Jefferson is a burly power forward with nice feet who reminds me of TKR. He’s tough to deny around the basket and, like Lipsey, is a menace on defense. His all-around game garnered him Second Team All-Big 12 recognition last season. Meanwhile, Momcilovic is the shooter of the group. He hit 40% from deep last season. He can hit coming off screens or on Lipsey kickouts.
Virginia transfer Blake Buchanan is positioned to fill the starting role at center. He ran hot and cold last season at UVA but plays with high energy. He’ll take whatever he can find on offense and focus on rebounding and defense. Fifth-year senior Nate Heise currently holds down the shooting guard spot, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see either highly touted true freshman Jamarion Bateman or Utah Valley transfer Dominick Nelson in the starting lineup by the time they fact the Boilermakers.
After Alabama, this could be Purdue’s stiffest preseason competition. Sometimes Purdue wins early-season games because they know who they are as a team, and the other team is still trying to figure it out. Iowa State knows who they are and has its own returning “Big 3” to lean on early in the season. The Boilermakers will need to bring their A game to put this game in the win column.
