Iowa State-Iowa men’s basketball is sharp rivalry with lots of dull finishes

IOWA CITY — It’s a great rivalry that doesn’t make great sense.

Things always are fierce when the men’s basketball teams of Iowa State and Iowa get together, but they end without last-minute dramatics. The average margin of the last six ISU-Iowa games has been 20.3 points, with none closer than 14.

Last year, Iowa State owned the Hawkeyes in Ames, 90-65. The year before, Iowa silenced the Cyclones in Iowa City, 73-53.

The only time the visitor has won in the series since 2015 was Iowa’s 84-68 romp in 2019. Iowa State went 12-20 that season.

The Cyclones that will play Iowa Thursday at 6:30 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena are a long way from being a 12-20 outfit. At No. 3, they have as high a national ranking as an Iowa State team has ever experienced. The Cyclones were No. 3 for a week in 1957, right after they beat No. 1 Kansas with Wilt Chamberlain, 39-37.

Iowa isn’t No. 1 and doesn’t have a Wilt Chamberlain. It does feature players who can play, and has the all-precious home-arena advantage.

Iowa State (7-1) has been tested by current No. 2 Auburn (a close neutral-site loss), and current No. 6 Marquette (an 81-70 win in Ames). This is its first true road game, in a gym where it has lost by at least 14 points in each of its last four visits.

The 7-2 Hawkeyes, meanwhile, lost by a late basket to now-No. 14 Michigan in Ann Arbor last Saturday.

Only three of the 10 starters are Iowans, but the seven starters who have been in previous Cyclones-Hawkeyes games know what’s ahead Thursday night. Like Iowa State junior point guard Tamin Lipsey of Ames and Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort of Waukee.

“They have a bunch of really good individual defenders,” Sandfort said. “Starting with Lipsey, a guy me and (Iowa forward Pryce Sandfort) have been playing against since we were little kids, who’s just continuing to get better.

“I’m impressed with him. He’s obviously a great defender, a great leader, great player. But besides that, they have a bunch of really tough guys.”

The Cyclones have five players who average over 10 points per game, and Lipsey isn’t among them. In Lipsey and seniors Keshon Gilbert (17.4 ppg) and Curtis Jones (16.3), they have a set of guards perhaps as good as any in the nation.

But Carver has been no day at Lake Macbride’s beach for Iowa State teams. This game, as SEC people say all so often about their football, just means more.

“I didn't realize how big rivalry was coming in,” Iowa sophomore center Owen Freeman said, “but once you get here, that's kind of all people talk about. So obviously I know the meaning of this game for people on the team, behind the scenes, and in the stands.”

Iowa State feels the same. Tuesday, Coach T.J. Otzelberger said “As we prepare we have to believe in our process and preparation that we put into everything and each opponent. But I think our players are aware of the opponent, the importance and the magnitude.”

“You want to act like it’s another game,” Sandfort said. “But growing up in the state, it’s not just another game. I know this means a lot to a lot of people.

“We take a lot of pride in that, but they will, too. They'll be ready to go. They’ve got a really good program, really good coach, a ton of guys playing really well. So, it's exciting, and I think we're looking forward to the challenge.

“We know what we’re up against, so we’ve got to be ready to go for 40 minutes.”

Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com