Big 12 Championship Second Round Primer: Cincinnati

Who: No. 12 Iowa State (23-8, 13-7 Big 12) vs. Cincinnati (18-14, 7-13 Big 12)

Where: T-Mobile Center (18,500) – Kansas City, Mo.

When: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 – 11:30 a.m. CT

Watch: ESPN // Jon Sciambi (PxP), Fran Fraschilla (Analyst), Kris Budden (Reporter)

Listen: Cyclone Radio Network // John Walters (PxP) & Eric Heft (Analyst)

Tipping Off: No. 12 Iowa State opens its Big 12 Championship defense Wednesday morning, as the Cyclones face Cincinnati in the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Second Round. It will be the second meeting of the season, as the Cyclones look to complete the season sweep of the Bearcats after an 81-70 victory in Ames on Feb. 15.

Iowa State enters the Big 12 Championship as the tournament's number five seed after finishing fifth in the conference. ISU completed the regular season over the weekend, avenging a home loss to K-State on the road, dispatching the Wildcats by a score of 73-57.

Cincinnati began its Big 12 Championship run on Tuesday morning, defeating Oklahoma State in the opening round of the tournament by 21 points. The Bearcats got season best performances from Josh Reed (19 points) and Day Day Thomas (21 points) as they advanced to the Second Round of the Championship for the second-straight season.

Storylines:

Iowa State's "sixth starter," Curtis Jones was named the Big 12's Sixth Man of the Year earlier this week and was also named a First Team All-League selection.
Saint Mary's transfer Joshua Jefferson has been a revelation for the Cyclones this season, as the versatile big man was named to both the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer team earlier this week.
The school's all-time leader in steals, Tamin Lipsey was again recognized for his defensive prowess as he was named to the All-Big 12 Defensive Team and the All-Big 12 Third Team earlier this week.
The engine that drives the Cyclones, Keshon Gilbert was also recognized by the league's coaches as he was also named to the All-Big 12 Third Team. Gilbert leads all Cyclones in minutes played despite being hampered by a muscle strain as of late.
Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic averages 11 points per game and shoots the 3-ball at the highest clip on the team at 40.2 percent. After missing just about a month of game action due to injury, he returned to the starting lineup on Feb. 8 against TCU.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 192-106 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 93-43 record over the last four years.
Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to take multiple teams to the Sweet 16.
- He was the 51st coach in NCAA Division I history to take a team to the Sweet 16 twice in his first three years on the job.
- 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.
Iowa State has been ranked in the Top 15 for 28-straight weeks. That is the third-longest streak in the country behind Tennessee's 35 and Duke's 32.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 9 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 10 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 7 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Iowa State and Cincinnati are meeting for the ninth time on Wednesday and the second time this season, with the series record being tied at four apiece.
- This will be Coach Otz's third meeting against Cincinnati at ISU, as the Cyclones have won the previous two matchups.
Cincinnati was picked to finish sixth out of 16 teams in the Big 12 Preseason Poll.
- They finished 13th and defeated 12 seed Oklahoma State in the opening round.
- It was the second straight season that Cincinnati's opening round matchup was the same as its season finale.
Cincinnati returned just under 70 percent of its scoring production from last season including six out of their top eight scorers, good for second best in the Big 12.
Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller is in his fourth season at the helm of the Bearcat basketball program. Miller is 81-57 with Cincinnati and is 266-192 in his head coaching career, that includes a 185-135 record from his time as head coach at UNC-Greensboro.
- Cincy is 4-2 under Miller when playing at the T-Mobile Center. Two of Miller's ranked wins at Cincinnati have come in Kansas City.
Cincinnati is ranked No. 50 in the NET. The Bearcats are No. 53 in KenPom and No. 40 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Big 12 Championship Second Round Primer: Cincinnati

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Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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Big 12 Championship Second Round Primer: Cincinnati

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Keshon Gilbert

Joshua Jefferson

Curtis Jones

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

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