Iowa State Basketball Has 2 Unconfirmed Dates for Marquee Matchups

The Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team is still without dates for two of their biggest non-conference games.

Dec 6, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Dominick Nelson (11) dribbles past Purdue Boilermakers guard Fletcher Loyer (2) during the first half at Mackey Arena. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team is going to be busy during its non-conference schedule for the 2026-27 season.

They have been invited to partake in several neutral-site events across the country. Their season starts at the Sanford Pentagon, where they are playing for the second straight season and will face off against the Memphis Tigers.

A trip to Las Vegas is on tap to partake in the revamped Players Era Festival. They’ll be playing in Kansas City, Missouri, at the T-Mobile Center for the NABC Hall of Fame Classic against the Missouri State Bears.

Dates for those matchups are announced, but Cyclones fans are still waiting to find out when two of their marquee non-conference matchups will be played, as shared by Henry Annen of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network (subscription required). One of those is a home game against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Iowa State still without dates for Purdue, Iowa games

Dec 6, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) dribbles past Purdue Boilermakers guard C.J. Cox (0) during the first half at Mackey Arena. | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Iowa State will be welcoming in the Big Ten contenders for the second half of a home-and-home series that began this past season. The Cyclones went on the road to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette and put together a historic performance.

Iowa State defeated the No. 1-ranked Boilermakers in impressive fashion, winning by 23 points. It tied the largest margin of victory for a team on the road against the top-ranked team in the nation.

Matt Painter and his squad will be looking to exact some revenge on T.J. Otzelberger and the Cyclones, wanting to return the favor. Purdue will no longer have Braden Smith and Fletcher Loyer leading their backcourt, but there is plenty of holdover talent, including Gicarri Harris, Jack Benter, Omer Mayer and Daniel Jacobsen.

The other marquee matchup that does not yet have a date announced is their annual Cy-Hawk rivalry game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. This year, the game will be taking place in Carver Hawkeye Arena after Iowa State escaped the most recent matchup at Hilton Coliseum with an impressive comeback victory.

Cyclones looking to make Cy-Hawk history this year

Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) drives with the ball around Iowa Hawkeyes forward Cam Manyawu (3) during the second half in the men’s basketball Cy-Hawk series on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cyclones have never won consecutive games in Iowa City, but will be looking to achieve that accomplishment in 2026. Iowa State has dominated this rivalry in recent years, winning three in a row.

Four consecutive victories have never been accomplished by the Cyclones, as more history could be made with a victory on the road against their rivals.

The Hawkeyes are coming off an impressive run in the 2026 NCAA Tournament that includes a win over the No. 1 seed in their region, the Florida Gators. They advanced to the Elite Eight, where they were beaten by the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Similar to the Boilermakers, Iowa will be without its star guard, Bennett Stirtz, who has graduated and is moving on to the NBA.