PRIMER: Iowa State vs. Niagara - Iowa State Athletics

Who: Iowa State (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Niagara (0-3, 0-0 Metro)
Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,267) – Ames, Iowa
When: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026 – 12 p.m. CT
Watch: ESPN2 // Eric Rothman (PxP), Scott Williams (Analyst)
Listen: Cyclone Radio Network // John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)

Tipping Off:
The Cyclones will close out a three-game homestand Sunday afternoon, squaring off with Niagara for the first time in program history. Iowa State will be off to Las Vegas next, where it'll spend Thanksgiving week competing in the Players Era Championship.

ISU has bounced back emphatically from a season-opening loss to Memphis, as it's downed its last two opponents by an average of 31.5 points. Last time out, the Cyclones limited Southern to 47 points. It was the fewest points ISU had allowed since holding ASU to 42 in the Big 12 Tournament last season.

Niagara comes into Sunday's contest searching for its first win of the season as it has started 0-3. The Purple Eagles had already played in two road contests, including one at Big 12 member West Virginia, and have lost each outing by an average of 28.5 points.

Storylines:

Iowa State had been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 53 straight polls, the third-longest streak in the nation, before Monday's updated rankings. Iowa State's 53-week streak was the second-longest in program history.
Under Coach Otzelberger, the Cyclones have been known for their defense, as they have ranked as a top-15 unit in the country each of the last six years, finishing ranked fifth in 2025-26.
Under Otz, ISU is 65-12 against non-conference opponents. His 65 wins are the seventh-most in the nation, and his .844 winning percentage is the fourth-best.
After losing some high-impact contributors from last year in the offseason, Tamin Lipsey returns. 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 225-117 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 126-54 record during his time in Ames.
- Otz earned both his 100th win at Iowa State and his 200th as a head coach last season.
- His 123 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 78-11 in games at Hilton Coliseum under Otzelberger. ISU's 78 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.
As of Friday, Iowa State slots in at No. 14 in the KenPom rankings and No. 10 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index

Switching Sides:

As previously stated, Niagara and Iowa State are meeting for the first time ever on Sunday.
- It is the first of two opponents (Missouri State being the other) on the ISU schedule that the Cyclones have not faced previously.
- Niagara is the only team visiting Hilton Coliseum for the first time this season.
The Purple Eagles were picked to finish 12th out of 13 in the Metro Preseason Coaches' Poll a season after finishing tied for 11th.
Niagara returned just two players from last season: Trenton Walters and Gael Dalmau.
Niagara has made the NCAA Tournament three times in program history, with the most recent appearance coming in 2007. The school's first-ever berth, in 1970, saw the team reach the Sweet 16.
Niagara head coach Greg Paulus is in his eighth season at the helm of the Purple Eagle basketball program. Paulus owns an 86-123 all-time head coaching record, which has been spent entirely in Lewiston, N.Y. (just north of Niagara Falls).
- Paulus, who has been an assistant coach at Navy, Ohio State, Louisville and George Washington, was a standout collegiate athlete. He played basketball at Duke (2005-09) before spending a redshirt year at Syracuse (2009), where he served as the team's starting quarterback. In high school, he was named New York State's Mr. Basketball.
- Coach Greg Paulus was on the 2013 Ohio State staff when it faced ISU in the NCAA Tournament.
As of Friday, Niagara is No. 338 in the KenPom rankings and No. 346 in the ESPN Basketball Power Index.

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