3 Biggest Iowa State Basketball Takeaways From Exhibition Games

The Iowa State Cyclones had several key takeaways from their exhibition games.

Mar 21, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; The mascot for the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half of a first round NCAA men’s tournament game against the Lipscomb Bisons at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Iowa State Cyclones are finally back to playing college basketball.

Over the last few days, they faced the Creighton Bluejays, then the Northwestern Wildcats, and split. A poor home loss to Creighton felt like a moment of panic, but a dominant win over Northwestern made everything seem fine.

Let’s take a look at three main takeaways from Iowa State’s exhibition games before the Cyclones begin their regular season on Nov. 2nd against the Memphis Tigers at the Sanford Pentagon.

Iowa State needs Tamin Lipsey

Iowa State University guard Tamin Lipsey (3) talks to the media during the university's men's basketball media day at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. (Credit: Nirmalendu Majumdar, Ames Tribune/USA Today Network). | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

In the first exhibition game, Tamin Lipsey didn't suit up. Without him, the team looked pretty unorganized, and it seemed they were in need of a true point guard, ball-handler, and leader for the young team. In addition, the perimeter defense needed a lot of work.

Once Lipsey came back against the Wildcats, the team looked much more complete. Lipsey had a good game himself, finishing with 14 points as the team’s second-leading scorer. He also was fantastic on the defensive side of the ball.

Clearly, the Cyclones need Lipsey to be in the lineup, with so much of the game plan involving him. The NCAA ruling needs to go in Lipsey and Iowa State’s favor.

Anyone can go off on any given night

There are so many talented scorers and defenders on this basketball team that can play well on any single night. Ryan Prather Jr. went for 25 points, hitting six 3-pointers. Leon Bond III had a great first game. Taj Manning has shown lots of positives so far. Tre Singleton has showcased a three-level scoring ability.

With so many talents on the court, you really never know who’s going to have the big game each week, but it’s certain that there’s an abundance of players who can do it.

The defense will be just fine

Feb 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes guard Terrence Brown (middle) looks to pass against Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (left) and forward Blake Buchanan (right) during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a disappointing first game defensively where the team gave up 83 points, many people were upset and a bit nervous about whether the defense could truly compete. But game two completely changed that.

They went on unbelievable runs defensively and gave up just 18 points in the first half. In the entire game, Northwestern was held to just 49 points. There has been a complete change in just one week, especially amongst the perimeter.

The defense will be completely fine. After all, there are still tons of talented defenders on the squad, both on the perimeter and in the interior, as well as a great head coach in T.J. Oztelberger to lead them to glory.