No. 5 Iowa State vs. Dayton Primer

Who: No. 5 Iowa State (3-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Dayton (5-1, 0-0 A-10)

Where: Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) – Lahaina, Hawai'i

When: Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024 – 7:30 p.m. CT

Watch/Listen: ESPNU / Cyclone Radio Network

Tipping Off: After suffering its first setback of the season to No. 4 Auburn in the Maui Invitational quarterfinals, Iowa State will move to the consolation bracket. ISU will meet Dayton, who blew a 21-point lead against No. 12 UNC and lost 92-90, in the opening round.

The Cyclones will look to get back in the win column after a heartbreaking loss to Auburn in the final seconds. Keshon Gilbert was a standout in the loss for ISU, as he dropped a game-high 23 points.

Dayton, like ISU, fell to a top-15 opponent in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. No. 2 UConn started the day being upset by Memphis, losing by two. ISU then fell to No. 4 Auburn by two, and then Dayton fell to No. 12 UNC by two, as the tournament delivered close game after close game.

Storylines:

Four Cyclones scored in double-figures, as No. 5 Iowa State dropped its first game of the 2024-25 campaign to fourth-ranked Auburn, 82-81, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational.
Keshon Gilbert leads the team in minutes played, averaging 15.0 points per game and dishing out a team-best 5.8 assists per game.
- Gilbert was the team's leading scorer in 2023-24.
- Gilbert was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player last season and also earned recognition on both the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer team.
Through four contests, sixth-man Curtis Jones is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per contest.
- In his last 22 contests where he has come off the bench, Jones has finished with double figure points 20 times.
Tamin Lipsey has continued to build off of his breakout sophomore campaign, as the junior from Ames averages 11.8 points and 2.8 steals per game.
- Lipsey was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season, as well as a First Team All-Big 12 member and a member of the league's All-Defensive Team.
- He led the team in rebounds, assists and steals last season while being the team's second-highest scorer.
Dishon Jackson matched his ISU high with 13 points against No. 4 Auburn, marking the second time this year he's finished in double figures.
Joshua Jefferson made his first two threes of the season against Auburn.
- He is one of six ISU players to average double-figure scoring.
Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic averages 10.8 points per game and shoots the 3-ball at the highest percentage on the team at 43 percent.
- Momcilovic earned All-Championship team accolades last year as well as All-Freshman Team recognition.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, T.J. Otzelberger is 172-99 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 73-36 record over the last three seasons.
Under Otz, ISU is 40-9 against non-conference opponents. The 40 wins are tied for the tenth-most in the nation and the .833 winning percentage is the fifth best.
Iowa State has now won 21-straight home games at Hilton Coliseum, tied for the fourth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to take multiple teams to the Sweet 16.
- Otz will attempt to become the first coach in program history to take a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first four years as coach.
The Cyclones are 33-2 under T.J. Otzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
Iowa State has appeared in 11 events since 2011-12 on Feast Week, advancing to the championship game in seven of those and winning the title in four. Overall, ISU has an 18-11 record on Feast Week.
Iowa State is 3-4 all-time in the Maui Invitational, participating in 1990 and 2018. The Cyclones own wins over Chaminade (1990), Illinois (2018) and San Diego State (2018) in the tournament.
Under T.J. Otzelberger, ISU won the 2021 NIT Season Tip-Off. In 2022, ISU advanced to the PKI Championship game before falling to eventual National Champion UConn.
- This is the second time in the last three years that Iowa State will appear in a Thanksgiving week tournament that features North Carolina, Michigan State and UConn (the other being the PKI in 2022).
As of the evening of Nov. 25, ISU is ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press.
- ISU is also ranked No. 12 by ESPN's College Basketball BPI and No. 8 by KenPom.

Switching Sides:

Iowa State and Dayton will meet for the first time since 1988 on Tuesday.
- ISU is 2-0 all-time against the Flyers, boasting a win in both Ames and Dayton.
The Flyers were picked to second out of 15 in the A-10 Preseason Poll, voted on by the league's head coaches and select media members.
- Dayton's Posh Alexander and Nate Santos both received preseason All-League honors.
Dayton coach Anthony Grant is in his eighth year at the helm of the Flyer program, where he is 154-73.
- Overall, Grant is 347-182 in his 17-year head coaching career, which began at VCU and includes a six-year stint at the head of Alabama.
- Grant led Dayton to a 29-2 record in 19-20 as the Flyers were in-line for a one seed before COVID called off the tournament.
As of Monday night, the Flyers are No. 37 in KenPom and No. 72 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Dishon Jackson

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics