No. 5 Iowa State has moved past last season’s Sweet 16 appearance.
The focus squarely is on the upcoming season, which begins Monday night with a home game against Mississippi Valley State in Ames, Iowa. The Cyclones aim to start fast in nonconference play as they build toward what they hope will be another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa State returns nine players from last season’s 29-win team. That includes starters Tamin Lipsey, Keshon Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic.
Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said his returning group is eager to accomplish even more than a season ago.
“We put a bow on last year, and hopefully someday we can come back and enjoy that experience with the guys we had,” Otzelberger said. “For those who are returning, they have an idea of what the work habits (will be required), the intensity and what things need to be.”
Gilbert is the top returning scorer after averaging 13.7 points on 43.8 percent shooting last season. He also averaged 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists.
Lipsey ranked second on the Cyclones with 12.4 points per game in 2023-24. He shot 42.8 percent overall, including 39.1 percent from 3-point range, to go along with recording 4.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Momcilovic also made an impact as a freshman for Iowa State. He averaged 10.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists, and he is looking to take another step forward during his sophomore campaign.
“(I’m) feeling good,” Momcilovic said. “First season was good to get the experience and ended up playing a lot of minutes as a freshman, but I feel I can take it up another level this year.”
The Cyclones should be able to assess some of their less experienced players against Mississippi Valley State, which went 1-30 last season, including a 1-17 record in the Southwest Athletic Conference.
Rayquan Brown led the Delta Devils with 18.3 points per game last season, but he was a senior who has moved on from the program. The top returning scorer is Donovan Sanders, who averaged 10.5 points per game last season.
Mississippi Valley State coach George Ivory said his team deliberately played a difficult nonconference schedule. He acknowledged as much last season as the Delta Devils earned a long-awaited victory against Prairie View A&M on Feb. 26.
“I thought it was really, really tough this year for this team because we played one great, tough schedule,” Ivory said. “One thing I tried to remind the guys was staying positive. It took a lot out of us. …
“It was just a joy to coach these young men and see them do all the things off the court and in the classroom. It was really exciting for them to get that win.”
Iowa State went 18-0 on its home court last season. Mississippi Valley State went 0-22 on the road.
–Field Level Media
