The No. 16 Cyclones look to shine within Hilton Magic, as they play their second exhibition matchup against Northwestern on Sunday.
With a previous 71-58 loss against No. 23 Creighton, the game against the Wildcats will be the second time Iowa State has had two exhibition matches since 2009, when the team faced Black Hills State and UNC Pembroke.
The Iowa State fans saw the Cyclones on the court for the first time with a new roster during their 71-58 loss against Creighton. Since then, the team has learned a lot and found new things to focus on in practice.
“I think we learned a lot from that game cause, quite honestly, we played awful,” junior forward Milan Momcilovic said. “I don’t think the two years I’ve been here, no one’s gone on a 23 run versus us. So I think we’ve learned a lot, but also it was kind of the first game we all played together.”
In the Cyclones’ first exhibition match since 2017, the team made 22 out of their 61 field goal shots, went zero from behind the 3-point line and 14-24 from behind the charity stripe.
Despite the loss, Iowa State is thankful for the chance to play exhibition matches like this, as the team believes it gives them a chance to grow before the regular season starts. Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger expressed how the shooting droughts and offensive struggles against Creighton give them a chance to work on specifics throughout practice.
“Offensively, it was great for us to have some struggles and some scoring droughts and learn ways that we continue to move the ball better,” Otzelberger said. “Great learning opportunity. Certainly, we want to win every game and be successful, but I think right now, this point in the season, you want to keep getting better.”
Playing for the first time on the Hilton court in front of a crowd, Iowa State will welcome Northwestern, which has added eight new players to its team, complementing the leading scorer, senior forward Nick Martinelli.
Martinelli finished the 2024-25 season as the Wildcats’ leading scorer, averaging 20.5 points per game and finishing with an overall total of 676 points.
As a team, Northwestern comes into play averaging 72.4 points per game, with a 33% rate from the 3-point line, a 41% completion rate from field goal range and a 73% rate from the charity stripe based on the previous season statistics.
Despite a mindset of wanting to always win, Iowa State is taking the exhibition results lightly as a chance to grow, no matter the outcome, because the final score does not have an overall effect on the stats sheet.
“You don’t want to be the best team in October, you want to be the best team in February, March when it actually matters,” senior forward Joshua Jefferson said. “So, as long as we keep growing, we keep taking steps towards that, I think we’ll be okay.”
The Cyclones will make their first appearance in Hilton Coliseum at noon Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
