PRIMER: No. 4 Iowa State at Utah

Who: Iowa State (23-4, 10-4 Big 12) at Utah (10-17, 2-12 Big 12)

Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) – Salt Lake City, Utah

When: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026 – 8 p.m. CT

Watch: FS1 // Carlo Jiminez (PxP) & Matt Muehlebach (Analyst)

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

Tipping Off: Iowa State will play its penultimate road game of the season Tuesday evening as it wraps its mountain trip with the Utah Utes. The Cyclones will play at Utah for the first time in program history.

Iowa State was unable to win its third-consecutive ranked contest Saturday night as it fell at No. 23 BYU. The loss dropped ISU into a tie with Kansas for third place in the Big 12 rankings. Arizona (12-2) and Houston (11-3) hold down the top two spots.

After winning its first road game of the season at West Virginia on Feb. 18, Utah was unable to hold serve at home as it fell to UCF over the weekend. The Utes got a double-double from Keanu Dawes in the loss – his fourth in the last seven games.

Storylines:

At No. 4 in the AP Top 25 Poll, Iowa State has been ranked in the AP Top 25 for 48 straight weeks, the fifth-longest streak in the nation. It is the second-longest streak in the Big 12 behind Houston's 122, 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 25 weeks.
The Cyclones started the season 16-0, the best start in school history. ISU is now 23-4 for the second time in program history as it's tied for the best mark through 27 games by a Cyclone team.
In five 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, and 2025-26 is no different (according to KenPom defensive rating).
The Cyclones had three players named to the Naismith Starting Five Midseason Top 10 Watch lists – Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson.
Joshua Jefferson has recorded two triple-doubles this season, tied for the most in the country.
- Jefferson became the first player in program history to have multiple triple-doubles in a career.
- He is just the third Big 12 player with multiple triple-doubles, but is the first to accomplish both in conference games.
Milan Momcilovic has been the nation's best marksman this season, as the junior leads the country in 3-point percentage.
- Momcilovic has six 25-plus point games so far this season for ISU.
Tamin Lipsey holds the most steals in program history and is in the top three in Big 12 history for career steals.
- He holds the most wins against Big 12 opponents by any active player.

From the Notes:

As a head coach, Otz is 217-112 overall and has guided the Cyclones to a 118-49 record over the last four years.
- He earned his 100th win at Iowa State against HOF coach Rick Pitino and No. 14 St. John's in the Players Era Championship opener on Nov. 24.
  - He was the quickest coach in school history to 100 career wins, doing so in 145 games.
- He then earned his 200th win over his mentor and former head coach Greg McDermott on Nov. 25.
- His 118 wins are the most in the first five years in ISU history.
- Otz is the quickest coach in school history to 100 career wins, doing so in 145 games.
With its home win over No. 2 Houston, Iowa State now has 29 wins over top 25 teams since Otzelberger took over (2021-22). That is the fifth-most in the nation during that stretch.
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.
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 four postseason appearances, Otzelberger has five NCAA Tournament wins – the most by any coach in program history.
Otz currently holds the school's highest winning percentage by a head coach.
The Cyclones are ranked No. 9 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 8 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 6 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

This will be the fifth all-time meeting between Iowa State and Utah. The series is tied at two apiece, and ISU won the only meeting as Big 12 foes last season in Ames.
- This will be ISU's first-ever time playing at Utah.
- Prior to the 2025 meeting, ISU hadn't played Utah since 1996.
Utah guard Terrence Brown is averaging 20.2 points per game this season. Should he continue to do so through the end of the year, he'd join Keith Van Horn and Andrew Bogut as the only Runnin' Ute to do so since 1996-97.
- Brown falls behind only AJ Dybansta, PJ Haggerty and JT Toppin as a top scorer in the conference.
The Utes will look for their first ranked win of the season and first since last year when they picked off No. 17 Kansas in SLC.
Utah's roster features seven foreign players, the fourth-most in the country and second most in the conference behind Arizona.
Utah was picked to finish 13th out of 16 in the Big 12 men's basketball preseason poll after finishing in 11th place last season.
The Utes are coached by Alex Jensen, who is in his first year at the helm of the Utah program. Jensen returned home to his alma mater this summer to be named the 17th head coach in program history.
- Jensen spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach on Jason Kidd's staff with the Dallas Mavericks.
Utah is ranked No. 117 in the NET. The Cougars are No. 109 in KenPom and No. 102 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

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Players Mentioned

Joshua Jefferson

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics