Iowa State basketball: 3 things to watch when the Cyclones play at Oklahoma State

Posted by author February 25, 2025 Basketball

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The college basketball regular season has been flying by. Iowa State is gearing up for its final game of February before things ramp up even further in March.

The Cyclones (21-6, 11-5 Big 12 Conference) are headed to Stillwater, Oklahoma, for their second-to-last road game of the season Tuesday against Oklahoma State.

Iowa State will try to rebound from a 68-59 loss to Houston on Saturday, which broke a four-game winning streak.

Oklahoma State (13-14, 5-11) is returning home from a 96-64 loss at Kansas on Saturday. The Cowboys have lost three of their last four games.

Tuesday night’s game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.

Here are three things to watch:

Iowa State junior Tamin Lipsey on breaking Monte Morris’ all-time Iowa State steals record

Oklahoma State likes to play fast, but not exactly furious

There will be some whiplash as Iowa State goes from playing Houston’s deliberate half-court style that ranks as the third-slowest pace in the country to going against Oklahoma State, which runs at the second-fastest pace in the Big 12.

UCF is the only conference team that operates at a faster tempo than the Cowboys.

Much like UCF, the Cowboys have had their struggles in league play. Their breakneck tempo has cost them on both ends of the court.

Offensively, they turn the ball over on 18.8% of possessions, which ranks 284th in the country. Within the Big 12, that’s the third-worst mark in the 16-team conference.

They also haven’t been an efficient bunch. Oklahoma State shoots 32.3% from the 3-point line (262nd in the country) and 48.5% from inside the arc (281st). In addition to committing turnovers at a high rate, the Cowboys have had 11.3% of their shots blocked, an alarming statistic that has risen to 14.0% in conference play.

Oklahoma State does excel at drawing fouls and getting to the charity stripe. According to KenPom, the Cowboys boast the 12th-highest free-throw rate in the country and sit atop the Big 12 in that category.

Defensively, the Cowboys tend to gamble and overcommit for steals. They force their opponents to generate turnovers on 20.4% of possessions, which shows they are good at it, but it comes at a price. They’ve given up a lot of open looks, which has allowed opponents to shoot well from nearly anywhere on the court. According to KenPom, they have allowed an effective field goal percentage of 54.6% (334th in the country), and they let opponents shoot 36.0% from deep (300th) and 55.1% inside the arc (321st).

The one bright spot for Oklahoma State is its ability to create turnovers. Iowa State will need to take care of the ball and be patient to find the optimal shot. The Cyclones’ ball movement looked good against Houston, and they’ll need to replicate a similar effort because the opportunities will come.

In conference play, the Cowboys have the third-highest turnover rate on defense, ranking behind Houston and Iowa State, so the Cyclones can’t afford to be careless with the ball.

The Cowboys’ senior trio

Oklahoma State is led by Bryce Thompson, Abou Ousmane and Marchelus Avery.

Thompson is the elder statesman of the roster, as he is in his fourth season starting at Oklahoma State since transferring in from Kansas. He leads the way with 12.4 points per game, and he is shooting 43.7% overall and 36.3% from deep. Thompson is coming off back-to-back 20-point games against UCF and Kansas.

Ousmane and Avery are making an impact as senior transfers.

After arriving from Xavier, Ousmane has been the Cowboys’ top rebounder. He’s also a solid scoring option and is shooting 50.9% overall. Ousmane has been more comfortable pulling up from deep this season and is shooting 12-of-25 (40.0%) when left open at the perimeter. He is averaging 11.8 points and 5.3 boards.

Avery is having a career-best season as a sparkplug off the bench. The UCF transfer is averaging 12.0 points and 4.6 boards per game. The 6-foot-8 forward loves to hunt for 3-pointers and takes more than half of his shots from long range. He is shooting 36.4% from deep.

Although he’s not a senior, also keep an eye on junior Arturo Dean. At 5-foot-11, 170 pounds, he doesn’t bring overwhelming size, but he is tenacious on the defensive end. He previously played for two seasons at FIU, where he was a solid two-way player who excelled at getting steals. He amassed 185 steals in two seasons with the Panthers.

Now at Oklahoma State, that ability to create steals has translated to the Big 12 level. He is tied with Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey at 2.1 steals per game this season and is a pest defensively.

Health updates for Curtis Jones, Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones (illness) and Keshon Gilbert (muscle strain) are listed as day-to-day entering Tuesday night’s game, according to a spokesperson for the Iowa State men’s basketball team.

Both players are expected to travel with the team to Stillwater. The severity or type of ailments that Jones and Gilbert are experiencing had not been disclosed by the team as of Monday.

This is a significant upgrade for Jones, however, since he was not able to make the trip to Houston for Saturday’s game due to his illness.

As for Gilbert, his muscle strain is a bit more tricky. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Cyclones err on the side of caution given the postseason rapidly approaching. Perhaps they’ll save Gilbert’s potential return for their big rematch against Arizona on Saturday. The Wildcats have climbed back into the top 25 rankings since defeating the Cyclones in overtime last month.

Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State prediction

The Cyclones showed tremendous fight against Houston despite being down two top contributors. Oklahoma State has had a tough season, and with the way Iowa State played on Saturday, it should be fine if T.J. Otzelberger’s team has to play short-handed once again. Jones appears to be closer to a return than Gilbert. If he plays, Tuesday should be a wider margin of victory. Iowa State 75, Oklahoma State 63

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.