Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) takes a three-point shot against Colorado during the first half in the Big-12 men’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb.18, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
AMES — For the second time in two weeks, ESPN’s College GameDay will be broadcasting live before an Iowa State game.
This time, the No. 8 Cyclones (21-5, 11-4 Big 12) will be interlopers rather than hosts of the venerable event, as they brace themselves for a matchup with fifth-ranked and conference-leading Houston (22-4, 14-1) at the Fertitta Center.
Oh, and add a hearty, “Yee-haw” to the hoopla surrounding the top-10 clash, as it’s “Rodeo Day” and fans are encouraged to wear their best western-themed duds to the game.
Then these two teams built to grind their foes into pulp with suffocating defenses and transition buckets will take the floor — and the Cyclones will be short-handed, as the program announced Friday night that leading scorer Curtis Jones (illness) and fellow guard Keshon Gilbert (muscle strain) will not be available.
“There are definitely some similarities just (in) how hard we play,” said ISU’s first-team all-Big 12 guard Tamin Lipsey, who’s gone 4-for-6 from 3-point range the past two games despite dealing with a broken thumb. “I feel like we’re two of the hardest-playing teams in the country. We just try to win the game by playing harder. I see some similarities (defensively), but obviously a lot of differences, as well.”
One of those differences?
Long-range shooting. The Cougars shoot a sizzling 39.4 percent from 3-point range as team, and their three starting guards — L.J. Cryer, Emanuel Sharp, and Milos Uzan — shoot 40 percent or better from beyond the arc.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for (Houston head) coach (Kelvin) Sampson and their program,” said ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger, whose team went 2-1 against the Cougars last season. “What they’ve done in the league last year, and this year — they’ve separated themselves, truly, from the pack.”
The Cyclones are a bit streakier from long distance, as their star guards, Gilbert, Jones and Lipsey, shoot between 33 and 38 percent from deep.
ISU’s wild card in that area? Sophomore forward Milan Momcilovic, who’s shooting 43 percent from 3-point range, and has scored in double figures in three of the past four games since returning from a hand injury. His activity will be crucial if the Cyclones hope to overcome Jones’ and Gilbert’s unexpected absences.
“He’s a lot better mover, first and foremost,” Otzelberger said of Momcilovic, who earned Big 12 All-Freshman team honors last season. “Number two, his confidence to continue hunting shots, I think, is elevated. We’d like to continue to have him do that, whether it’s attacking a closeout and rip it and drive it, and hunting the 3, we want him to be highly aggressive, and we’ve seen some progress there.”
Momcilovic has also become a better defender and rebounder — areas, again, that will be critical against a Houston team ranked among the top 10 nationally in offensive and defensive efficiency, as well as offensive rebounding percentage.
“They’ve got the guys who have really good foot speed, length and athleticism, that are good movers,” Otzelberger said. “And I think we have some bigger guys that have the ability to be more physical. So we’ve gotta hit first. We’ve gotta play through contact. We’ve gotta be physical with how we screen and just have a mentality to us of we’re gonna be the team that hits first in every area.”
That’s in the paint. That’s at the point of attack. That’s on the glass, where the Cyclones have made big strides, outrebounding their foes in all but six games this season.
“Just gotta be mentally sharp,” Jones said on Thursday apparently before being stricken with the illness. “I guess you could say Houston makes you pay for your mistakes. So just try to limit those — limit turnovers because they score off of those, as well. They’re just a really good team, so we’ve gotta come and bring our A-game.”
So forget GameDay. And definitely don’t focus on “Rodeo Day.” Saturday’s matchup is all grit and zero glitz — and the Cyclones crave such scenarios.
“(We’ve) gotta do a great job being aggressive but doing so by making simple play after simple play,” Otzelberger said. “We were fortunate last years in two of the three matchups to be the team that did that. It really is simple at the end of it: You’ve gotta control what you can, and the number one thing is (being) tough with the basketball.”
