T.J. Otzelberger Shares Health Update on Blake Buchanan Against Texas Tech

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team changed its lineup for the first time in months against the Utah Utes.

Freshman Dominykas Pleta was inserted into the starting lineup in place of junior big man Blake Buchanan. It was the first time that Buchanan didn’t start all season, and the first change made to the starting five since Tamin Lipsey missed three games earlier in the season.

After Iowa State’s 75-59 win in Salt Lake City, head coach T.J. Otzelberger explained that Buchanan had missed practice leading up to the game because of an illness he was dealing with. Out of an abundance of caution, the lineup was adjusted.

As a result, Pleta was running with the starters in practice, and to avoid having any pressure on Buchanan to play, they started the freshmen. The results were positive, with both putting together strong performances.

Will Blake Buchanan play against Texas Tech?

Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan defended by Utah Utes guard Don McHenry looking to pass ball. — Feb 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Blake Buchanan (23) looks for a play against Utah Utes guard Don McHenry (3) during the first half at Jon M. Huntsman Center. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Set to take the court again against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Feb. 28, what is Buchanan’s status? According to Otzelberger, he is all systems go.

He's fully healthy, fully cleared, ready to go. He was great today (in practice),” the head coach said, via Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert, part of the 247Sports Network, on Feb. 26.

It will be interesting to see if Buchanan is inserted back into the starting lineup. Based on the explanation given after the win over Utah and the fact that he was able to get back into practice in the following days, a return to the starting five seems likely.

Otzelberger added that Buchanan was dealing with headaches, and the team took all the measures necessary to make sure he was ready to play.

I think it was just one of those things you get later in the season. And, I think it was something that he did a great job of dealing with. But we just wanted to make sure that we were acting in his best interest in terms of his well-being and health."

A transfer from the Virginia Cavaliers, Buchanan has done a great job this season, fitting the scheme that Otzelberger deploys. His mobility has been great on the defensive end in a system that includes a lot of trapping, and he is active on the glass, both for offensive and defensive rebounding.

He is averaging 8.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.6 steals in 24 minutes of action per game. Buchanan has been combining with Pleta to give Otzelberger a productive 40 minutes from the center spot every game.