AMES – On Saturday, the No. 10 Cyclones will head to Manhattan, Kansas, seeking revenge against the Wildcats, who ended Iowa State’s 29-game home winning streak in its last meeting in Hilton Coliseum.
That loss to Kansas State on Feb. 1 was one of the more shocking results of Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger’s entire tenure for multiple reasons.
Iowa State had been unbeatable at home for nearly two full years, Kansas State hadn’t won a road game since January 2024 and were 9-11 overall and most shockingly, the game wasn’t even close.
The Cyclones got dominated by the Wildcats in Hilton Coliseum, losing 80-61. After the game, Otzelberger said Iowa State’s effort was “unacceptable”.
The loss didn’t age as poorly as it was expected to, as Iowa State was just the third casualty in Kansas State’s out-of-nowhere six-game winning streak that featured wins over West Virginia, Kansas and Arizona.
After that six-game tear, the Wildcats fell back to earth, dropping four straight games before winning their last two. However, in three of those games, they were without senior guard Coleman Hawkins, and Otzelberger knows he is a difference-maker when he’s on the floor.
“If you look at their games where they’ve been successful in league play, [Hawkins] has been available and he’s performed well. And the other guys play off of him,” Otzelberger said.
Hawkins recorded 17 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the first matchup and was a driving force for Kansas State in its upset win.
“When [Kansas State] was here, [Hawkins] got them going,” Otzelberger said. “He drove the ball right to the rim. He hit a shot early. He kind of dictated everything. And then the confidence came for their other guys as well.”
Otzelberger also mentioned Kansas State’s David N’Guessan and Dug McDaniel as players who gave Iowa State trouble the first time.
N’Guessan scored 10 points and secured eight rebounds during that game and McDaniel led Kansas State in scoring with 20 points and had a team-high five assists.
“I really respect David N’Guessan. He’s a tremendous offensive rebounder, maybe as good as there is in the league,” Otzelberger said. “McDaniel last time was a load for us to guard on the perimeter.”
This game isn’t all about getting revenge though, it’s also about getting things turned around before the postseason begins.
The Cyclones have been up and down since the last Kansas State game.
In some games, Iowa State will look like one of the best teams in the country, like it did against Arizona last Saturday. However, in other games it will look like a team that doesn’t deserve to make the NCAA Tournament, like it did against Oklahoma State on Feb. 25.
Sometimes, the inconsistency isn’t even game-to-game. Sometimes, it’s half-to-half like it was in the Cyclones’ last game against BYU.
Iowa State looked completely outmatched for most of the game against the Cougars, falling down by as much as 21 points. But, somewhere during the game, the Cyclones flipped a switch and went on a tear and took the game into double-overtime before eventually falling short.
“Last week alone was two totally different performances in the Oklahoma State and Arizona game. And then within the realm of the BYU game, there was inconsistency within the realm of that game,” Otzelberger said.
The time for inconsistency has to be over. There is only one regular season game left and after that, it’s win or go home, whether in the Big 12 Tournament or the NCAA Tournament — the Cyclones know that.
“We really need this win, we need to know who we’re gonna be going into this [Big 12] tournament,” senior center Dishon Jackson said.
While the Cyclones know from experience, they can’t look past Kansas State and ahead to the Big 12 Tournament, getting a victory over the Wildcats would be a great way to head into Kansas City.
The Cyclones and Wildcats will tip off at 12:30 p.m. Saturday from Bramlage Coliseum. The game will be nationally broadcast live on CBS.
