Opening the season ranked at 16, the Iowa State men’s basketball team starts its time on the court with an away exhibition match against Creighton at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Cyclones will face the Bluejays for the first time since 2021, when Iowa State won 64-58. The rivalry between the two teams started in 1926; the Cyclones currently hold a seven-game win streak over Creighton.
Despite being an exhibition match, it will be the first time fans will see the cardinal red and yellow jerseys on almost a whole new roster. With the addition of nine new players, and senior guard Tamin Lipsey currently out due to suffering a Grade 2 MCL sprain on his right knee, the skills and dynamics on the court may be different from what we have seen from the Cyclones in previous seasons.
“We approach it every single practice to win the drill in front of us, to win what’s right there,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said. “So, we won’t approach this any differently. We’re not trying combinations, we’re not experimenting with things, we’re trying to win the next possession.”
The starters for the match against the Bluejays are freshman guard Killyan Toure, redshirt senior guard Nate Heise, junior forward Milan Momcilovic, senior forward Joshua Jefferson and transfer junior forward Blake Buchanan.
Toure is stepping on the court for the first time in a Cyclone jersey, replacing Lipsey while out with an injury. Earning a starting position, Momcilovic says that Toure plays with passion and has the skills to be a starter.
“I think his defensive pressure, he pressures the ball 94 feet very well,” Momcilovic said. “He calls out what he wants, talks a lot and then he just brings a lot of energy to the court. He brings a lot, plays with passion, makes the open three, cuts well.”
Buchanan will also be accompanying Toure for the first time, starting as an Iowa State player, after recently transferring from Virginia.
“I think it’s going to be good just to go out there and play in front of a crowd in an Iowa State uniform,” Buchanan said. “Kind of just be a little bit more free, knowing that this game doesn’t count towards our record, even though everything we do is going to be looked at like a game and treated like a game.”
Although playing an exhibition match, the Cyclones are put under a spotlight; finishing the 2024-2025 season with a 25-10 overall record and now stepping on the court with a new team, injuries and playing their first match on the road. Despite challenges arising, Otzelberger advocated for the team to challenge adversity.
“I think throughout the course of the season, playing on the road is an adversity,” Otzelberger said. “But when adversity hits on the road, you really have to be together and connected to fight through it.”
Iowa State will set the scene for the season against an exhibition match against Creighton at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Omaha, Nebraska. The game can be watched on Nebraska Public Media.
