No. 6 Iowa State vs. No. 20 BYU Primer

Who: No. 6 Iowa State (23-6, 12-4 Big 12) vs. No. 20 BYU (21-8, 9-7 Big 12)

Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,267) – Ames, Iowa

When: Wednesday, March 6, 2024 – 8 p.m. CT

Tipping Off: Iowa State returns to Hilton Coliseum this Wednesday night looking to cap off a perfect home season, as the Cyclones are 17-0, when it welcomes No. 20 BYU. Initially scheduled for 7 p.m., Wednesday's game was picked up by ESPN2 and will now tip off at 8 p.m.

Wednesday is also Senior Night, as four Cyclones – Curtis Jones, Robert Jones, Tre King and Hason Ward – will be honored. Wednesday' Senior Night recognitions will begin at 7:45 p.m. prior to the 8 p.m. tipoff. Please be seated by then to help recognize a great group of Cyclones!

This will be the eighth all-time meeting between Iowa State and BYU. The Cyclones lead the all-time series (6-1) but BYU earned its first victory in the last meeting, handing the Cyclones their only double-digit loss of the season. This will be the fourth meeting in Ames, where ISU's margin of victory over the Cougars has been about 17 points.

Storylines:

UNLV transfer Keshon Gilbert, a St. Louis native, averages a team-best 13.8 points per game and really hit his stride in the latter half of the season.
- Gilbert recorded a triple-double against New Hampshire earlier this season, going for 10 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
  - His triple-double – the eighth in school history – puts him with Lipsey, Haliburton, Monté Morris, Royce White, Jamaal Tinsley, Curtis Stinson and Marc Urquhart as members of the illustrious club.
- Gilbert is first in the Big 12 in free throws attempted (158) and third in FT made (113).
  - He is second on the team in assists (122) and steals (49).
- Gilbert has two Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards to his name this season.
- He's recorded a team-best seven 20-plus point outings.
Tamin Lipsey has been his usual stat-stuffer self for the Cyclones so far this year, as the Ames native is averaging 12.3 points per game to go along with team-highs in assists (144) and steals (77).
- Lipsey leads all Big 12 players in steals and steals per game.
  - He is sixth and fifth respectively, nationally, in those categories.
- Lipsey set the school record for steals against PVAMU, picking the Panthers' pockets eight times.
  - The previous record, seven, was held by Fred Hoiberg and Justus Thigpen.
  - He has recorded a steal in all but two games in his career.
- Against DePaul, Lipsey recorded the seventh triple-double in school history, going for 15 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
  - Lipsey became the first Cyclone since Tyrese Haliburton in 2020 to record a triple-double.
Iowa State freshman Milan Momcilovic has been a constant during his rookie campaign, as the first-year from Pewaukee is averaging 11.5 points per game – the third-most on the team.
- He is one of five Cyclones to score at least 20 in a game this season.
- Momcilovic is averaging the most points per game by an ISU true freshman since Lindell Wigginton's 16.7 in 2017-18.
  - He is the second highest-scoring true freshman in the Big 12, behind Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter.
Curtis Jones has been stellar off the bench the whole season but especially in the last 12 outings, establishing himself as the team's sixth man.
- He's scored in double figures in all 12 contests (11 off the bench), averaging 13.3 points.
- Jones is the only ISU player since 2012 to score in double-figures in eleven-straight games off the bench.
- He had seven steals at TCU earlier this season in his lone start, tying him for the second-most steals in a single game in Iowa State history.
  - It's the first time ever that two Cyclones recorded games with seven-plus steals in a single season.
Robert Jones leads the team in offensive rebounds (71) and blocks (25).
Tre King leads the team in rebounds, as the senior out of Lexington, Ky., averages five per game and has a total of 146 boards.
Hason Ward, C. Jones, Jackson Paveletzke, Demarion Watson and Omaha Biliew make up the bench unit for the Cyclones.
Iowa State forces the second-most turnovers per game (17.90) in the country – tops in the Big 12.
- The Cyclones average 10.5 steals per game, also tops in the Big 12.
As a head coach, Otz is 163-96 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 64-33 record over the last three seasons.

From the Notes:

Iowa State has won 17 straight games at Hilton Coliseum, tied for the sixth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
- Iowa State is winning its home Big 12 matchups by an average of 10.9 points.
Iowa State has held all but one Big 12 opponent under its season scoring average. That one opponent? BYU.
Iowa State ranks second in the nation in turnover percentage at 26.1 percent. ISU has been in the top six in the country in each of Otzelberger's seasons, ranking sixth in 2022 (24.6%) and second in 2023 (25%).
Iowa State is one of four schools in the country, and the only Power Six school, to force 25 or more turnovers in multiple games against NCAA Division I opponents this season.
Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert each have triple-doubles to their names this season - making ISU the only team in the country with multiple players boasting a triple-double.
- There are now eight in school history.
The Cyclones are 27-1 under T.J. Otzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
The six highest-scoring Cyclone outputs under Otzelberger have all come this season, including a pair of 100-point performances. Nine of the 10 highest under Otz have also come this season.
The Cyclones have scored 90 or more points six times this season. It is the most times hitting that mark in a season since the 2016-17 team did so eight times.
As of Tuesday, the Cyclones are ranked No. 8 in the NET. The Cyclones slot in at No. 10 in the KenPom rankings and are No. 9 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Iowa State and BYU will meet for the second time this season and the Cougars have been ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll both times.
BYU was picked to finish 13th in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, but with one week to go, the Cougars are fifth in the conference.
The Cougars are second in the country in 3-pointers attempted per game (32.3) and third nationally in 3-pointers made per game (11.3) - both of which lead the Big 12.
BYU is also tops in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.79) which ranks fifth nationally. Its bench production also leads the league as it averages 32.4 points per game.
- Charlotte transfer Aly Khalifa leads the league in assist/turnover ratio, averaging 3.54 assists to every one turnover.
The Cougars boast the most prolific scoring offense in the Big 12, averaging 82.7 points per game. The team has gone over 90 points ten times on the season, and, in a defensive-minded conference, has gone over 80 points ten times through 16 Big 12 games.
BYU head coach Mark Pope is in his fifth year at the helm of the Cougar program. Pope is 108-49 with BYU and is 185-105 overall in his nine-year head coaching career.
- BYU head coach Mark Pope played six years in the NBA. He played his first two seasons with the Indiana Pacers from 1997-99. One of his teammates in Indiana? Iowa State Hall-of-Famer Fred Hoiberg.
BYU is ranked No. 12 in the NET. The Cougars are No. 16 in KenPom and No. 16 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Omaha Biliew

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Jackson Paveletzke

Hason Ward

Demarion Watson

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