The bitter rivalry between No. 23 Iowa State and No. 7 Kansas has come around once again, which has the Cyclones planning to take on the most diverse and impactful duo they have seen thus far.
For the Cyclones to pull off their second top-10 upset at home this year, it will take more than a little Hilton Magic. While Iowa State fared well against the Jayhawks last season at home, the flock has grown in terms of development and new faces.
The Jayhawk tandem of Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. has been the driving force of Kansas’ success this season, averaging a combined 38.8 points per game and 17.4 rebounds per game.
Dickinson, a senior transfer from Michigan, has played like one of the best centers in the nation with his veteran offensive skill set. The senior big man leads the Big 12 in field goals made (49) during conference play, and has shown constant success to work the ball inside and finish plays at the rim.
“[Dickinson] is a tremendous offensive player,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “A guy that from an offensive standpoint that does so much to impact their team in a positive way.”
McCullar on the other hand, a fifth-year senior, has taken a tremendous leap in production in his second year with head coach Bill Self. After averaging 10 points per game on 44% shooting from the field in 2023, the veteran guard has developed into one of the most efficient scorers in the Big 12, now averaging 20 points per game this season.
This amount of development comes as no surprise to Otzelberger, as he has seen Self and his staff catapult players’ careers with ease.
“Guys in [Self’s] program especially, as they have been there for a few years, tend to take a big step forward in their confidence and you can definitely see that with McCullar,” Otzelberger said.
The main focus for the Cyclones defensively, however, remains on stopping Dickinson from getting into a groove. Iowa State forwards Robert Jones, Tre King and Hason Ward will be the main challengers to do just that.
The rotating duo of Jones and Ward each have shown off their ability to lock down opposing teams, and Milan Momcilovic is fully confident in being able to shut down the Jayhawks’ post threat.
“[Dickinson] causes some problems but with our bigs, we have two of the better bigs in the country with [Jones] and [Ward],” Momcilovic said.
Since returning to Iowa State’s rotation after recovering from a foot injury during non-conference play, Ward has been essential in the Cyclones’ ability to control the paint with his constant disruptions around the rim.
But when Dickinson does find his way inside attempting to post up, it is Jones’ job to force the ball somewhere else.
“With [Jones] it is more physicality, pushing Dickinson out making the catches further and with [Ward] it is just athleticism,” Momcilovic said. “I think both of those guys will give him a tough time on what [Dickinson] is trying to do.”
Both the Jayhawks and the Cyclones enter Saturday’s matchup sitting at 4-2 in conference play, and a win on both sides would begin to set them apart from many other teams in the Big 12.
For Iowa State, an upset win over a team that beat them twice last season, one of which came in the Big 12 Tournament, would continue its journey of becoming one of the most feared teams in the conference.
“I feel like we are always sort of seen as underdogs, especially with matchups against them, so we take that as motivation,” Tamin Lipsey said.
It does not matter where this rivalry is played, the games mean a lot to the Cyclone fanbase, which has trickled down into the players’ admitted resentment of the Jayhawks.
“Our fanbase and our community doesn’t like Kansas and I think that is the reason why it gets passed down to us,” Lipsey said. “It is always a fun and competitive game with a great atmosphere.”
Tipoff between Iowa State and Kansas is set for 12:30 p.m. Saturday and will be broadcast on CBS.
