Who: No. 3 Iowa State (10-1, 0-0 Big 12) at Colorado (9-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Where: CU Events Center (11,064) – Boulder, Colo.
When: Monday, Dec. 30, 2024 – 8 p.m. CT
Watch/Listen: CBS Sports Network / Cyclone Radio Network
Tipping Off: Aiming for its sixth undefeated month in the last ten seasons, No. 3 Iowa State will kick off a 20-game Big 12 slate on the road on Monday evening, heading to Boulder. The Cyclones will play the Buffaloes for the second time this season, having previously met in a non-conference bout in Maui. ISU’s trip to Boulder will be the first since 2011 when the Buffs were in the Big 12, and it will aim for its first win at Colorado since 2005.
After having seven days off for the holidays, the Cyclones will be back in action and will look to extend their seven-game winning streak. Milan Momcilovic had himself a day last time the two teams met in Maui, scoring a career-high 24 points against the Buffs, knocking down six triples.
Like Iowa State, Colorado’s only setbacks came in Maui, falling to Michigan State in the first round before ISU in the fifth-place game. The Buffaloes are undefeated on their home court this season, boasting an 8-0 record. Monday’s game will officially serve as Colorado’s “welcome back” to the Big 12, a league that it was previously a member of from its inception through 2011.
Storylines:
- Keshon Gilbert has been ISU’s MVP so far, leading the team in minutes, points and assists. He has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice this season.
- Iowa State’s “sixth starter,” Curtis Jones, has been elite coming off the bench for Iowa State. He leads the team in field goals and 3-pointers made.
- A Preseason All-Big 12 First Team selection, Tamin Lipsey has been the glue of Iowa State’s team. A known defensive menace, Lipsey leads the team in steals and is one of six averaging double-figure scoring.
- Saint Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson has been a key, versatile player this season. Jefferson leads the team in rebounding and has earned a pair of Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards.
- Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic averages just about 12 points per game and shoots the 3-ball at the highest clip on the team at whopping 46 percent.
- A transfer from Charlotte, big man Dishon Jackson has been a force in the paint. He leads the team in blocks and averages 11 points with 5.2 rebounds.
- A Swiss army knife off the bench, Nate Heise has really come into his own. His defensive ability to lock opposing players down has been on display as of late.
From the Notes:
- As a head coach, Otz is 179-99 overall and has led the Cyclones to an 80-36 record over the last four years.
- ISU is 52-8 in games at Hilton Coliseum under Otzelberger.
- Under Otz, ISU is 47-9 in non-conference games. The 47 wins are tied for the seventh-most in the nation and the .839 winning percentage is the sixth-best.
- 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.
- The Cyclones have been ranked in the AP Top 10 for 15 straight weeks, the only school in the nation to be ranked for double-digit consecutive weeks.
- Coach Otzelberger currently holds the Iowa State career winning percentage record, having won .690 of his games.
- The Cyclones are ranked No. 8 in the NET. Iowa State slots in at No. 5 in the KenPom rankings and is No. 8 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.
Switching Sides:
- This will be the 150th all-time meeting between Iowa State and Colorado. In the previous meeting this year, on a neutral court in Maui, ISU won 99-71.
- ISU leads the all-time series, 79-70.
- The Cyclones are just 17-48 against Colorado in Boulder.
- The Buffaloes were picked to finish 15th out of 16 in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, voted on by the league’s 16 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.
- At home, Colorado has won 11 straight games and 24 of its last 25 total games.
- In the Tad Boyle era, Colorado is 201-40 at home.
- The CU win over No. 2 UConn at the Maui Invitational marked the highest-ranked win away from Boulder in program history.
- Colorado’s last win against a defending national champion came against the 1952 NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks.
- Colorado coach Tad Boyle is in his 15th year at the helm of the Buffalo program, where he is 307-185.
- Overall, Boyle is 363-251 in his 19-year head coaching career, which began at Northern Colorado before moving to Boulder.
- Boyle picked up his 300th win at Colorado earlier this season.
- Colorado is ranked No. 77 in the NET. The Buffs are No. 76 in KenPom and No. 83 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.
