The following is a press release couresy of Iowa State athletics communications.
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men’s basketball team will face Vanderbilt in the 2017 SEC/Big 12 Challenge presented by Sonic. The Cyclones and the Commodores will meet on Saturday, Jan. 28 in Nashville, Tennessee.
This will be the eighth meeting between the two schools, as the Cyclones hold the edge at 4-3. ISU is 1-2 vs. VU in games played in Nashville. The Cyclones won the last meeting in the series with an 80-79 victory in the championship game of the 1985 Music City Invitational in Nashville.
The Cyclones return one of the best backcourts in college basketball in seniors Monte’ Morris, Naz Mitrou-Long and Matt Thomas. The trio have a combined 425 career 3-pointers and helped the Cyclones reach the NCAA Tournament in the last three seasons, including two Sweet Sixteen appearances (2014, 2016).
Vanderbilt was 19-14 overall and 11-7 in the SEC in 2015, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Cyclones lost at Texas A&M, 72-62, in a matchup of top-15 teams in last year’s challenge and are 4-3 all-time in challenge games (2-0 vs. Oregon State, 0-2 vs. California, 1-0 vs. Auburn, 1-0 vs. Arkansas, 0-1 vs. Texas A&M).
The Big 12 is 20-10 (.667) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, having won the series in each of its first three seasons, including a 7-3 advantage in last year’s matchups.
2017 SEC/Big 12 Challenge – Saturday, Jan. 28
Baylor at Mississippi
Iowa State at Vanderbilt
Kansas at Kentucky
Kansas State at Tennessee
Florida at Oklahoma
Arkansas at Oklahoma State
Auburn at TCU
Texas at Georgia
LSU at Texas Tech
Texas A&M at West Virginia
