3 Biggest Iowa State Basketball Concerns From Memphis Loss

The Iowa State Cyclones suffered a surprising and disappointing defeat in their season opener against the Memphis Tigers at the Sanford Pentagon, losing 80-76.

There is certainly no reason to panic after one game against one of the better mid-major programs in the country. However, starting 0-1 isn’t something many people expected, and their streak of being ranked in the top 25, which is one of the longest active in the nation, is in jeopardy.

Drastic changes are almost certainly not coming after only one defeat, but there were some things that popped up in the game that are worth keeping an eye on as the season moves along.

Here are three concerns for Iowa State that emerged from their loss to Memphis.

3-Point Shooting

What a Pass 👀

A game-high 17 points for RPJ.#Cyclones | #C5C | @RyanPratherJr pic.twitter.com/iRkmrQmQCK
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 3, 2026

Replacing Milan Momcilovic, who had a historic shooting season from 3-point range, was never going to be easy. However, outside of him, the team did struggle shooting from long-range last season, and that could be an issue again.

The Cyclones went 4-of-20 from distance, and similar to last season, it was one player who did all the damage. Ryan Prather Jr. knocked down 3-of-6 of his 3-point attempts en route to 19 points off the bench.

Tamin Lipsey was the only other player to connect from distance, but he shot an ugly 1-of-7. Jaquan Johnson and Jamarion Batemon were the only other players to attempt multiple 3-pointers, and they went 0-for-2 and 0-for-4, respectively.

That has to change moving forward. Without a go-to presence like Joshua Jefferson to run offense through, the team has to shoot better given their lack of creators in the lineup.

Foul Shooting

Another issue from last season that looks to have carried over is the foul shooting. Given their style of play, with so many players capable of drawing fouls, Iowa State needs to make the most of their trips to the charity stripe, and they didn’t do that against the Tigers.

As a team, the Cyclones shot 22-of-32 from the foul line, coming out to 68.8%. That percentage would have been a whole lot worse if not for Johnson, who lived up to his bully-ball moniker and consistently drew fouls, shooting 9-of-10 from the charity stripe.

That means his teammates were an abysmal 13-of-22, which comes out to 59.1%. That is an unacceptable number and is going to cost the team in close games, just as it did against Memphis.

Shooting was the difference, with Iowa State getting outscored by 15 at the 3-point line and three at the foul line despite nearly identical numbers of attempts.

Starting Lineup Deficiencies

pic.twitter.com/JROsRkX9r3
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 3, 2026

A starting lineup change may be a tad bit aggressive after one game, but starting the trio of Lipsey, Johnson and Batemon leaves the Cyclones incredibly undersized on the perimeter and puts a ton of pressure on Tre Singleton and Blake Buchanan to hit the glass hard for rebounds.

Defense is supposed to be the calling card of Lipsey and Johnson, but Jayden Reid and Luke Almodovar both had monster games, scoring 26 and 18 points, respectively. Having a little more size in the backcourt is something head coach T.J. Otzelberger should experiment with, possibly removing Johnson in favor of Leon Bond III.

Batemon is someone to keep an eye on as well. This starting lineup needs a sniper from long range to make things click, and he didn’t provide that against the Tigers. Prather did, and he would offer the lineup a little more size as well.

It will be something to keep an eye on, especially until Killyan Toure returns to the lineup. He was sorely missed.

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