Cyclones Meet No. 9 Memphis In Championship Game

BROOKLYN, New York - Iowa State looks to take home a trophy Friday evening when it faces No. 9 Memphis in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off at approximately 8:30 p.m. (CT) at the Barclays Center.

The Matchup: Iowa State (5-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. No. 9 Memphis (5-0, 0-0 AAC)
Where: Brooklyn, New York - Barclays Center
When: Friday, Nov. 26, approx. 8:30 p.m. (CST)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Varsity Radio App
Talent: Chris Williams (PxP), Scott Christopherson (Analyst)
TV: ESPN2
Talent: Rich Hollenberg (PxP), Fran Fraschilla (Analyst)
Webcast: WatchESPN
Live Stats: Statbroadcast.com

KEY STORYLINES
- T.J. Otzelberger, who won his 100th game in the season opener, is 5-0 as head coach of the Cyclones ... he looks to become just the fifth of 21 Cyclone head coaches to start their career 6-0.
- Coming off a 2-22 season, ISU is already +3 in the win column this season and one of the nation's final 36 unbeaten teams as of Thursday morning.
- Iowa State won Wednesday evening against No. 25 Xavier, its first win against a ranked foe in more than two seasons.
- The Cyclones have been strong defensively to start the season, holding opponents to just 60 points per game and 39.3 percent field goal shooting, including 23.9 percent behind the arc ... the Cyclones lead the Big 12 and rank 12th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage defense ... ISU hasn't allowed an opponent to make more than seven 3-pointers in a game this season.
- Izaiah Brockington had a career night against Xavier, finishing with a career-high 30 points ... he matched his career-best output with four 3-pointers made ... it was first 30-point performance by a Big 12 Conference player this season.
- Freshman guard Tyrese Hunter continues to impress after matching his career high with 19 points against the Musketeers ... he had five steals, three of which led directly to dunks ... he has 16 steals with three games with at least four steals already ... he's third in the Big 12 with 5.2 assists per game and first with 3.2 steals per contest.
- The Cyclones have already snapped losing streaks of 18-straight games overall, eight home games, 25 games against power conference opponents, 28 games away from Hilton Coliseum and 19 games to nationally ranked opponents.

LAST TIME OUT
- Iowa State used a stifling defense and career outings by Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter to defeat No. 25 Xavier, 82-70, Wednesday night at the Barclays Center ... ISU trailed for just 2:44 in the game, jumping out to an early lead only to see Xavier take a one-point lead into the half ... but the Cyclones used a 9-0 run to start the second half and cruised to the victory ... Brockington had 30 points, making 12-of-19 field goals ... Brockington was the first Cyclone to score 30 points in a game since Lindell Wigginton scored 30 against Baylor in 2018) ... Hunter had 19 points and a career-high five steals ... Hunter's five steals were the most by a Cyclone since Tyrese Haliburton had the same number in 2020 against West Virginia ... Gabe Kalscheur (12) and George Conditt (10) also reached double figures for the Cyclones ... ISU held Xavier to just 43.3 percent shooting, including just 3-for-21 behind the arc ... the Cyclones shot 51.5 percent when it had the ball, sinking 10-of-20 3-pointers.

ISU VERSUS MEMPHIS
- The Cyclones and Tigers are meeting for the first time in the history of the programs.
- Otzelberger and Hardaway have faced off just once, with Otzelberger's South Dakota State team falling, 88-80, in a 2018 meeting in Memphis.
- Otzelberger is looking for his first win against the American Athletic Conference (0-6) ... four of the losses came by less than eight points.
- As a program, ISU is 13-11 all time against the AAC.
- Memphis guard Tyler Harris played last season at Iowa State, averaging 7.5 points in 24 games ... he scored a season-high 22 points in a loss at Baylor.
- Memphis assistant Larry Brown went 6-6 against Iowa State when he was the head coach at Kansas from 1983-88 ... he was 0-5 at Hilton Coliseum ... another Tiger assistant, Rasheed Wallace, faced the Cyclones in the 1995 NCAA Tournament, scoring seven points as UNC eliminated the Cyclones in the second round.

To read the complete release, click here.

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Players Mentioned

Izaiah Brockington

Tyrese Haliburton

Tyler Harris

Tyrese Hunter

Gabe Kalscheur

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