WHO: No. 5 Iowa State (3-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Dayton (5-1, 0-0 A-10)

Where: Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) – Lahaina, Hawaii

When: Tuesday, November 26, 2024 – 7:30 p.m. CT

Watch/Listen: ESPNU/Cyclone Radio Network

Tip: After suffering its first setback of the season to No. 4 Auburn in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational, Iowa State will advance to the consolation round. ISU faces Dayton in the opening round, which blew a 21-point lead against No. 12 UNC and lost 92-90.

The Cyclones will look to get back on the winning list after a heartbreaking loss to Auburn in the final seconds. Keshon Gilbert was a standout player in the ISU loss as he dropped a game-high 23 points.

Dayton, like ISU, lost to a top-15 opponent in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. No. 2 UConn started the day with an upset against Memphis, losing by two. ISU then fell by two to No. 4 Auburn, and then Dayton fell by two to No. 12 UNC as the tournament delivered one close game after another.

Storylines:

• Four Cyclones scored in double figures as No. 5 Iowa State lost its first game of the 2024-25 season to fourth-seeded Auburn, 82-81, in the quarterfinals of the Maui Invitational.
• Keshon Gilbert leads the team in minutes played, averages 15.0 points per game and provides a team-best 5.8 assists per game.

  • Gilbert was the team’s leading scorer in 2023-24.
  • Gilbert was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Championship last season and also received recognition on both the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer Team.

• Sixth man in four competitions Curtis Jones is second on the team with an average of 14.8 points per contest.

  • In his last 22 contests off the bench, Jones has scored in double figures 20 times.

• Tamin Lipsey has continued to build on his breakout sophomore season as the junior from Ames averages 11.8 points and 2.8 steals per game.

  • Lipsey was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season as well as a member of the First Team All-Big 12 and a member of the league’s All-Defensive Team.
  • He led the team in rebounds, assists and steals last season while also being the team’s second-highest scorer.

• Dishon Jackson Matched his ISU high with 13 points against No. 4 Auburn, his second time reaching double figures this year.
• Joshua Jefferson made his first two three-pointers of the season against Auburn.

  • He is one of six ISU players to average double-digit points.

• Sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic averages 10.8 points per game and shoots 3-ball at 43 percent, the highest rate on the team.

  • Momcilovic earned All-Championship Team honors last year as well as All-Freshman Team honors.

From the notes:

• As a head coach TJ Ötzelberger is 172-99 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 73-36 record over the last three seasons.
• Under Otz, ISU is 40-9 against non-conference opponents. The 40 wins are the 10th most in the nation and the winning percentage of .833 is the fifth best.
• Iowa State has now won 21 straight home games at Hilton Coliseum, tying it as the fourth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
• Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men’s basketball coach to lead multiple teams to the Sweet 16.

  • Otz will attempt to become the first coach in program history to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first four years of coaching.

• The Cyclones are 33-2 under TJ Ötzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
• Iowa State has competed in 11 events since Feast Week 2011-12, advancing to the championship game in seven of them and winning the title in four. Overall, ISU has a record of 18-11 during the festival week.
• Iowa State is 3-4 all-time in the Maui Invitational, having competed in 1990 and 2018. The Cyclones have wins in the tournament itself against Chaminade (1990), Illinois (2018) and San Diego State (2018).
• Under TJ ÖtzelbergerISU won the 2021 NIT Season Tip-Off. In 2022, ISU advanced to the PKI Championship Game before losing to eventual national champion UConn.

  • This is the second time in the last three years that Iowa State has participated in a Thanksgiving week tournament that includes North Carolina, Michigan State and UConn (the other being the PKI in 2022).

• As of the evening of November 25, ISU was ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press.

  • ISU is also ranked No. 12 on the ESPN College Basketball BPI and No. 8 on KenPom.

Changing sides:

• Iowa State and Dayton meet for the first time since 1988 on Tuesday.

  • ISU is 2-0 all-time against the Flyers and boasts wins in Ames and Dayton.

• The Flyers were ranked second out of 15 in the A-10 preseason poll, voted on by the league’s head coaches and select members of the media.

  • Dayton’s Posh Alexander and Nate Santos both earned preseason All-League honors.

• Dayton coach Anthony Grant is in his eighth year at the helm of the Flyers program, where he is 154-73.

  • Overall, Grant is 347-182 in his 17-year head coaching career, which began at VCU and includes a six-year stint at the helm at Alabama.
  • Grant led Dayton to a 29-2 record in the 19-20 season as the Flyers were on the verge of the tournament being canceled by COVID.

• As of Monday night, the Flyers are ranked No. 37 in KenPom and No. 72 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.