Feb 21, 2026; Provo, Utah, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger looks on during the second half against the BYU Cougars at Marriott Center. (Aaron Baker-Imagn Images)
Iowa State basketball has had some great basketball weeks and a handful of terrible ones this winter. This week was the anomaly, as it had a little of both.
The men toppled No. 3 Houston in a rowdy Hilton environment 70-67 on Big Monday before being met with a loss at No. 23 BYU over the weekend 79-69.
Nate Heise hit a massive three to take a 69-67 lead with just over a minute to play against Houston. Heise caught a pass in the left corner with the shot clock about to expire and quickly flung a triple that hit the bottom of the net to an insane crowd pop.
It is likely not the first time you are hearing about this, but it was a wild week for the Heise family, with Nate’s sister Taylor assisting on a goal to take down Canada in the women’s hockey Olympic Gold Medal Match.
The Phog at Kansas and Hilton get a lot of well deserved credit as nearly impossible places to play. The Marriott Center, the home of BYU, should undoubtedly be thrown into that conversation. Both the men and women lost at BYU this season despite bringing in teams that most would argue are better.
Road games against BYU create a rare atmosphere, and make it one of the few places where it is not a shame to lose regardless of a slim or sizable talent gap. This time around, the gap is slim between the men’s teams, but the crowd was involved early and often, as always.
On the court, the difference maker was potential No. 1 NBA Draft selection AJ Dybantsa. He racked up an insane 29 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists; however, the most impressive feat was playing all 40 minutes against a team as physical as Iowa State is. While Darryn Peterson of Kansas is an exceptional player in his own right and will also be a top selection in the draft, Peterson had struggles against the Cyclones and Dybantsa made them look silly.
It is good to see the Cyclones took the loss to heart. Champions do not allow losing to become insignificant, and at the very least, this team has a championship mentality.
For the women, the week just seemed to get better and better until the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game. After narrowly escaping an inferior Kansas State team, Addy Brown made her extremely long-awaited return to the court. While Brown did not have her best two shooting nights, scoring six and 11 points, on low efficiency, adding her presence back into the mix has already made a visual difference in the team composition.
Iowa State slapped a 90-64 score onto the board against Arizona State in Brown’s return game. The Cyclones then flew down to Fort Worth to take on No. 12 TCU and led by nine heading into the fourth quarter. The final frame was a disaster, falling apart with a 31-15 differential in the final 10 minutes to lose 80-73.
It is hard to be too disappointed in the loss, taking the Big 12’s top team to the wire after the Cyclone season was viewed by many as completely dead a month ago. Even with the loss, the Cyclones have won seven of nine and re-railed the season with two games to play at 21-7.
Iowa State actually has one of the most anticipated Selection Sundays of any team ahead, because most of the team’s losses came without multiple starters in Brown and Arianna Jackson. The committee has factored in injuries in the past, so it is not a matter of if they will factor in injuries, but how much of a factor they view it as.
With games against 21-8 Oklahoma State and 15-14 Kansas State remaining, it would be a good time to run plays through Addy Brown to get her comfortable on the court again. Her recovery could not have been easy, and a lot is being asked of her to step back into the lineup right before a postseason push. To be playing with full confidence in the Big 12 Tournament and beyond would make a major difference.
Bonus Point
The wrestling squad is getting it done at the right time, beating No. 14 Missouri 20-14 in the final dual before the Big 12 Championships on March 6-7. At 12-2 in duals and 8-1 in conference duals, this Cyclone squad is special. The losses came against No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Oklahoma State, and wins along the way have come against No. 3 Iowa, No. 20 Lehigh, No. 24 Stanford, No. 15 South Dakota State, No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 18 West Virginia, No. 15 Northern Iowa and No. 14 Missouri.
The tournament season is a whole different beast, but this team at the very least has the talent to be the best team in recent memory when all is said and done.
