Northwestern Basketball Shows Flashes in Loss to No. 18 Iowa State

The Northwestern Wildcats capped their preseason schedule with a 94-59 exhibition loss vs. the No. 18 Iowa State Cyclones at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday.

NU finished its exhibition slate 0-2, following last week’s loss to Illinois State in Normal.

Buckets were in short supply for a Northwestern team facing a team known for its elite defensive pressure. Iowa State finished fifth a season ago in adjusted defensive efficiency (KenPom). The Cyclones returned three starters from the 2025-26 campaign in Tamin Lipsey, Killyan Toure and Blake Buchanan.

While shooting 6 of 32 (19 percent) in the first half, NU was prone to prolonged stretches without a bucket – at one point going 8:01 of game clock and missing seven field goal attempts between makes in a 17-4 Cyclones run that put the game well out of reach.

However, some of the Wildcats’ was self-inflicted. Free throws stood out as an issue as they did in the Illinois State exhibition, a disappointing 4 for 9 from the charity stripe in the first half.

NU made its first five shots to open the second half, including two three-point makes from Jake West and a trey from LA Pratt. They finished strong, shooting 48.1 percent (33 percent on three-pointers) in the second period.

For the game, the 'Cats shot 32.8 percent on field goals compared to the Cyclones' 52.7 percent.

West finished with a team-high 21 points on 7 of 16 shooting, including 4 of 9 from downtown. Angelo Ciaravino finished with 13 points.

Iowa State’s Ryan Prather Jr. scored 25 points in 24 minutes off the bench. Lipsey and Dominykas Pleta notched 14 apiece.

Former Northwestern forward Tre Singleton enjoyed a brief homecoming, tallying 10 points and five rebounds after transferring to Ames for his sophomore season. 

ISU overmatched the 'Cats on the glass, with 44 boards to NU's 31.

The Wildcats returned three players total from last season – Ciaravino, West and sophomore Phoenix Gill.

NU has never played Iowa State in Evanston during the regular season. The two teams have only met twice in the regular season – in Ames in 1949, and at the UIC Pavilion in the neutral-site Chicago Classic in 2009.

The Wildcats will tip off the regular season Monday, Nov. 2 against Binghamton, the first of a five-game homestand. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. CT on B1G+ and WGN 720.

Iowa State opens its regular-season slate Monday at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota in a neutral-site game against Memphis.