3 Cyclones Arizona Must Slow Down in Big 12 Semifinals

Arizona will go head-to-head with Iowa State tonight in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Both teams are coming off dominant wins in the quarterfinals, so this should be a good one. The Wildcats defeated the Cyclones by 16 points less than two weeks ago.

The Wildcats will look to continue their dominance tonight and advance to the Big 12 championship game. They have faced little adversity this season due to the terrific season they have had. Expect the stellar play to carry over in the semifinal round.

CATS WIN ‼️@ArizonaMBB picks up where it left off in the regular season with a W in the 2026 Phillips 66 Big Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals.

Our first semifinal game is official: No. 5-seed Iowa State will play the top-seeded Wildcats tomorrow at 6 p.m. CT.… pic.twitter.com/eT3idpCdoc
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 12, 2026

Here are three players to watch out for from Iowa State.

Tamin Lipsey

Coach Lloyd has been named National Coach of the Year by @sportingnews pic.twitter.com/u8n9fUn2Fz
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 13, 2026

Tamin Lipsey is coming off one of his best games of the season, as he dropped 20 points, including four 3-pointers, against Texas Tech. Themus Fulks, senior guard for the Knights, was the leading scorer with 14 points yesterday.

Tonight, they will face off against another talented guard in Lipsey. He is averaging 13 points, four rebounds and five assists on the season while shooting 46% from the field. Lipsey is not known for his three-point shooting. In fact, his four made threes yesterday were a season high.

It may be a long night if Lipsey is still hot from downtown after yesterday’s performance. The Wildcats will have their hands full with Lipsey tonight.

Milan Momcilovic

Milan Momcilovic is the leading scorer for the Cyclones with 17 points. He is one of the best shooters in the country and can beat a team from deep any given night. Momcilovic is shooting 50% from beyond the arc this season on seven attempts.

He is coming off a poor performance against the Red Raiders, but he can easily light up the Wildcats tonight. Momcilovic was held in check in the last matchup versus the Wildcats, but he followed that up with four 3-pointers in back-to-back games.

Right back here tomorrow night. pic.twitter.com/dD6daXi2aA
— Arizona Basketball (@ArizonaMBB) March 12, 2026

Momcilovic has nine games this season where he has hit five or more threes in a game. The Wildcats have to play uptight on him and prevent him from getting hot. If Momcilovic gets going from deep, it may end the hopes of becoming Big 12 champions for the Wildcats.

Joshua Jefferson

Joshua Jefferson has been a double-double machine to start the Big 12 Tournament. He has posted a 20 and 12 game and an 18 and 13 game. Jefferson has been a force down low and looks to continue that against the Wildcats tonight.

Luckily for the Wildcats, they have multiple big men to make Jefferson uncomfortable. That is exactly what happened in the last matchup, as Jefferson had one of the worst games of the season. He went 2-for-17 from the field and 0-for-5 from downtown.

With that, Jefferson absolutely has the talent to give the Wildcats trouble in the paint. The question is, can Jefferson continue his double-double streak?