Iowa State men’s basketball’s season falls much closer to a mountain climb than a roller coaster. Other than a few minor slip ups, the team has taken care of business day-in and day-out to climb ever closer to the National Championship peak.
The Cyclones are far from the top of the mountain, but they are coming up on one of the steepest portions. Starting Feb. 14, Iowa State has a stretch of games against No. 11 Kansas, No. 8 Houston, No. 16 BYU, Utah, No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 1 Arizona before the regular season finale against Arizona State. At 21-2, these games may not seem important on paper. Iowa State is a top-10 team that is essentially locked into a fairly high seed in the NCAA Tournament. Why it matters, though, is that Iowa State is going to get a taste of tournament basketball early. Just like the postseason, the Cyclones take on a string of the nation’s best in a row with little reprieve. The only difference is that in March, Iowa State does not have room for a “learning experience.” The team has to be perfect in every aspect of the game. No turnovers, no flat starts, no cold streaks shooting the ball and no poor gameplans.
A loss during this stretch is a learning experience, a loss in the NCAA Tournament marks the end of a handful of great Cyclone careers. If Iowa State can rattle off a five-game winning streak during the brutal stretch, that would do massive things for both team and fanbase confidence ahead of the postseason. If they fall flat against a level of competition they have not faced since the heart of the non-conference schedule, doubts start to creep in, even if they are unwarranted. Just like any normal person in their job, you have a bad week and you start to ask yourself if you are not as good at the job as you once were.
Does this team want to go down as another solid Iowa State team that makes it to the Sweet Sixteen and gets a few nice Twitter posts every year saying “Remember the 2026 Cyclones?” or does this team want to go down as the greatest men’s basketball team in school history? We will all find out soon enough.
A win over a middling Baylor team is not going to be the game that gets Iowa State in the history books, it’s the road ahead that will.
Speaking of the Baylor game, it was a good one until the final minutes for the Cyclones, building up a solid lead that nearly crumbled in a 72-69 win. Throughout the entire 40 minutes, it was not the game at the top of mind. The topic that has been ringing through my brain as well as the brains of many others is NBA draftees and G-League players returning to college. Baylor’s seven-foot freshman, the No. 31 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, James Nnaji was held scoreless in the game and scored two points in the previous matchup between the teams. BYU’s Abdullah Ahmed played 54 games in the G-League before his journey to college, averaging 1.9 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Alabama’s Charles Bediako has even received multiple “G-League dropout” chants in recent weeks. He has been the most successful of the trio, averaging 9.5 points per game.
Regardless of results, a stance has to be taken by the NCAA and soon. What is the difference between a G-League player and a floundering NBA player coming to play college ball? I understand recent rule changes have permitted professional players to come to college. The Cyclones have benefitted from that with overseas professional Dom Pleta joining the team.
The truth is, the line has to be drawn somewhere. Is it between the G-League and NBA? Is it any professional basketball? Is it American professional basketball? Truth is, I’m not sure where that line has to be drawn, but I do know it cannot be erased and moved to convenience NCAA administrators every year.
Bonus Points
Keshon Gilbert got called up to the league by the Washington Wizards and saw significant playing time in his debut. Over 28:44 of action, Gilbert scored four points, grabbed three rebounds, dished a pair of assists and snatched three blocks in a loss to the Brooklyn Nets.
Gilbert has had a solid run in the G-League, averaging 14.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists over 14 games this season. He had a 23-point, 11-rebound and 10-assist triple double a month ago.
Oh, and the Super Bowl happened too, I guess.
