Iowa State Cyclones Cap Off Players Era Festival Dismantling Syracuse Orange

The Iowa State Cyclones overwhelmed the Syracuse Orange in their Players Era Festival consolation game.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones had to be disappointed that they weren’t partaking in the championship game or the third-place game at the Players Era Festival.

Because of tiebreakers, they missed out on the opportunity to earn more NIL money despite going 2-0, defeating the St. John’s Red Storm and Creighton Bluejays in their first two contests. As a result of not being in the top four, they played a consolation game against the Syracuse Orange.

Early on, Iowa State looked like a team that was playing for the third consecutive day and lacked motivation, not being in a matchup that included a prize. 

Some sloppy play led to the Cyclones holding only a one-point lead at halftime. They were turning the ball over at a high rate and lacked that killer instinct to put the Orange away early on.

Tale of two halves for Iowa State against Syracuse

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However, something clicked at halftime. Whatever head coach T.J. Otzelberger said to his team worked because they came out looking like a totally different team from the locker room for the second half.

Iowa State demolished Syracuse over the final 20 minutes of the game, outscoring its opponents 60-30 en route to a 95-64 blowout victory.

The Cyclones' offense was truly unstoppable. As a team, they shot 59% overall and 45% from 3-point range. Milan Momcilovic led the way with 24 points, knocking down six 3-pointers. He was challenged by the coaching staff to increase his 3-point volume this season and has responded.

The People's Champ#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/1AkhqMzzBn

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 26, 2025

Killyan Toure, Joshua Jefferson, Blake Buchanan and Dominick Nelson all scored in double-figures with 19, 13, 12 and 12 points respectively.

Despite not having arguably their most important player, point guard Tamin Lipsey, in the lineup for a second consecutive game, Iowa State’s defense remained elite.

Iowa State dominates second half against Syracuse

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Freshman Killyan Toure looks to have an incredibly bright future as a Lipsey clone. He sets the tone with his point of attack defense, creating turnovers and converting them into easy scoring opportunities for his team.

Toure, Jefferson and Buchanan all recorded three steals in the game. Overall, the Cyclones had 13, forcing 19 overall turnovers from the Orange. That was a key to the game because of how well Syracuse normally takes care of the ball.

What A Moment.#Cyclones | #C5C | @MilanMomcilovi5 pic.twitter.com/HD2c5GBARZ

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 26, 2025

But they folded under the intense pressure that Iowa State plays with on that end of the floor. The Orange made only 39.3% of their shots overall and continues to struggle from deep, connecting on only 28.6% of their 3-point attempts.

The Cyclones are now 7-0 on the season and will take the court again on Dec. 3 against the Alcorn State Braves back at Hilton Coliseum. All eyes will be on their following contest, heading to Mackey Arena to face the Purdue Boilermakers in one of the biggest non-conference matchups of the season.