Rob Gray

Ashley Joens notched her 16th career 30-point game on just 14 field-goal attempts in Iowa State’s 99-76 win over Columbia. She drilled seven of her 10 3-point tries and added 10 rebounds to record her 52nd career double-double.

Iowa State has been solid on both ends of the floor in blowout wins over IUPUI and North Carolina A&T. But these are obviously not juggernaut programs. The Cyclones should get an opportunity to work on themselves against Milwaukee on Sunday.

Iowa State once again failed to make positive plays at key times and it’s why the Cyclones lost, 14-10, to Texas Tech on a frigid Saturday night at Jack Trice Stadium.

Texas Tech is one of the top teams in the country in terms of tempo and if Iowa State is to win Saturday night, it will have to continue to be one of the best defenses in third-down situations.

Former Cedar Rapids Washington star O’Rien Vance has battled through an array of injuries, internal and external doubts that he could excel in college, and ISU’s mercurial 2022 season that’s ending in a two-game chase for guaranteed bowl eligibility.

Xavier Hutchinson’s three-year span as a Cyclone has included starting in the school’s first New Year’s Six Bowl as well as weathering this season’s spate of close losses. ISU matched a program record with nine wins in his first season and is scrambling to secure bowl eligibility in his final go-around.

Each of the Iowa State women’s basketball team’s past eight meetings with UNI have been decided by single digits, so the tense nature of this in-state matchup isn’t confined to the most recent games.

When it comes to facing adversity — whether incidental or self-manufactured — Texas Tech finds itself in a similar space as Iowa State: Hobbled and hungry.

Here are five Texas Tech players to know entering what’s clearly a very important game for both the Red Raiders and Iowa State.

The Iowa State football team continues to struggle with execution on offense as the season winds down.

Iowa State topples North Carolina A&T inside Hilton Coliseum as forward tries to be more aggressive

Iowa State’s offense turned the ball over five times. It struggled against one of the Big 12’s worst defenses — and inept play on that side of the ball once again doomed the Cyclones to a 20-14 loss Saturday against injury-deleted Oklahoma State at T. Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.

Will McDonald chose to return to Iowa State for one more season for two important reasons: Becoming the first in his family to earn a college degree and proving he can shine against the run as well as the pass.

Iowa State struggled in multiple areas in a 79-55 win over Southern. The good news for the Cyclones is their uncharacteristic long-range shooting woes have come in blowout wins.

Oklahoma State’s defense is heading south fast. Here are three keys and a prediction for the Iowa State Cyclones against the Cowboys.