PRIMER: No. 18 Iowa State vs. Memphis

Who: Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Memphis (0-0, 0-0 American)
Where: Sanford Pentagon (3,250) – Sioux Falls, S.D.
When: Monday, Nov. 2, 2026 – 6 p.m. CT
Watch: FS1 // Connor Onion (PxP), Miles Simon (Analyst)
Listen: Cyclone Radio Network // John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

Tipping Off:
Iowa State will officially open the 2026-27 season away from Hilton for the first time since 2017, as it heads back to the Sanford Pentagon for a neutral-site contest for the second straight year. There, ISU will square off with Memphis for just the second time in school history.

The Cyclones unofficially opened the season over the last two weeks with a pair of exhibition outings. Iowa State began the preseason with a tight, three-point home loss to Creighton before going to Northwestern and besting the Wildcats by 35.

Memphis, like Iowa State, opened its season with a pair of exhibitions – facing two schools from the SEC. In a road game at Mississippi State, the Tigers won by 17. Memphis then went to No. 12 Arkansas, losing by 12.

Storylines:

At No. 18 in the 2026-27 preseason AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 53 straight polls, the third-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 127, which is the longest streak in the country.
- The Cyclones and Cougars are the only two Big 12 schools to have streaks of at least 35 polls. It is the second-longest streak in school history behind the 61 weeks from 2014-17.
In six seasons under Coach Otzelberger, the Cyclones have been known for their defense, as they have ranked as a top-15 unit in the country each year, finishing ranked fifth in 2025-26.
Iowa State's offense will look to reinvent itself with consensus All-American Joshua Jefferson being drafted by Brooklyn in the first round of the NBA Draft this past summer and Milan Momcilovic transferring to Kentucky.
One constant remains, though, in Tamin Lipsey. The Ames native is back for a fifth season and will once again run the show for Coach Otzelberger.
- Lipsey was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team.
Killyan Toure was named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List.
The Cyclones were picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, which is voted on by the league's coaches.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 223-116 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 124-53 record over the last five years.
- Otz earned both his 100th win at Iowa State and his 200th as a head coach last season.
- His 118 wins are the most in the first five years in ISU history.
- Otz became the quickest coach in school history to 100 career wins, doing so in 145 games.
Otz has led Iowa State to four 20-plus win seasons, joining Orr (5) and Hoiberg (4) as the only ISU coaches to do so four-plus times.
ISU is 76-11 in games at Hilton Coliseum under Otz. ISU's 76 home wins during that time are tied for the fourth-most nationally
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.
- In five postseason appearances, Otzelberger has seven NCAA Tournament wins – the most by any coach in program history.
Otz currently holds the school's highest winning percentage by a head coach.
- He has led ISU to 30 wins over AP Top 25 teams, the most by an ISU coach in school history.
The Cyclones finished last year ranked No. 7 in the NET. Iowa State slotted in at No. 7 in the KenPom rankings and was No. 7 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Monday's meeting will be the second-ever between the two programs and first since 2021, when the sides met as part of the Upsie NIT Season Tip Off in Brooklyn,
- Iowa State won that contest, 78-59, upsetting then-No. 9 Memphis to win the tournament. The win was Coach Otzelberger's first top-10 win at Iowa State.
The Tigers were picked to finish second out of 13 in the preseason American Preseason Coaches' Poll, a year after finishing tied for eighth.
Senior Jayden Reid was named to the Preseason All-Conference First Team after transferring from Northwestern, where he averaged 10.1 points per game.
- There, Reid was teammates with current Cyclone Tre Singleton.
Fellow senior Tylik Weeks was tabbed to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team. He transferred from Southern Miss, where he led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring last season with 19.7 points per game.
Memphis Head Coach Penny Hardaway is in his ninth year at the helm of his alma mater. Hardaway holds a 175-87 all-time head coaching record, spending his entire head coaching career with Memphis.
- Hardaway is one of 50 DI coaches coaching at their alma mater.
- Hardaway was the 2024-25 Coach of the Year as the team won both the American Conference Regular Season and Conference Tournament titles that season.
The Tigers finished last season ranked No. 128 in the NET. Memphis was No. 133 in KenPom and No. 102 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Tre Singleton

Killyan Toure

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics