Know the Foe: No. 18 Iowa State

Memphis begins the basketball season on Monday in a neutral-site matchup against Iowa State. The Cyclones start the season ranked No. 18 in the Associated Press poll, and it appears they will be a factor again in the Big 12.

T.J. Otzelberger enters his sixth season as Iowa State’s head coach, and he has a 124-53 record (70.1%) since taking over. In the two years before he took over, the Cyclones went 14-42 under Steve Prohm, but Otzelberger turned things around immediately.

He has led Iowa State to the NCAA Tournament every year, and he has made three Sweet 16 appearances, including last season before losing to Tennessee.

Iowa State was set to lose its three leading scorers from last year, but Tamin Lipsey returned for his fifth year of eligibility. While Lipsey returned, the Cyclones lost Milan Momcilovic, who transferred to Kentucky, and Joshua Jefferson, who is with the Brooklyn Nets. 

Lipsey was out of eligibility as a class of 2022 signee, but he is challenging the NCAA for a fifth season. Last week, the Indiana Court of Appeals denied the NCAA’s request to expedite their hearing, which means Lipsey will be eligible for the entire season.

The guard averaged 13.5 points, 5.1 assists and 3.9 rebounds last season, and he will be looked to be a leader for this team.

Killyan toure also returned, but he had surgery before the season and will be out until at least January.

In the Cyclones’ exhibition, Otzelberger rolled out a starting lineup that included a good amount of size. Three of the starters were 6-foot-8 or bigger, but the lineup will look different against Memphis with Lipsey eligible.

Jamarion Bateman, Dominykas Pleta, and Blake Buchanan all returned as well, and all three started in Iowa State’s exhibition. Bateman and Pleta both came off the bench last season, while Buchanan started in 36 games.

Buchanan, the 6-foot-10 forward, averaged 8.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists last season, while Bateman shot 37 percent from deep in 37 games.

Tre Singleton also started in the exhibition, and it will be interesting to see what role he will play this season. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 7.6 points and 4.8 rebounds for Northwestern during the 2025-26 campaign.

Junior guard Jaquan Johnson also looks to be an intriguing addition after he transferred from Bradley. The 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 30.4 minutes per game last year.

The two teams will meet at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a primetime matchup on Monday.