Tamin Lipsey Matched NCAA Tournament History With Stat Line

Knowing they would be without their star forward Joshua Jefferson, the Iowa State Cyclones knew others would have to step up in his place.

Assuming that position was Tamin Lipsey. The senior point guard has set an example for his teammates to follow since he joined the program four years ago, and he did not want his career to come to an end in the Round of 32.

With a little extra motivation after an underwhelming performance in the Round of 64 against the Tennessee State Tigers, in which he battled some foul trouble, the Ames native put on a masterclass against the Kentucky Wildcats.

He stuffed the stat sheet on both ends of the floor, so much so that he put himself in an elite group of players with his overall performance. As shared by the Iowa State Basketball official account on X, Lipsey put together only the fourth game of at least 26 points, 10 assists and five steals in NCAA tournament history.

Tamin Lipsey had one of most unique NCAA tournament stat lines ever

With his team facing an early deficit, Lipsey knew the onus fell on him to help keep the team poised. It was imperative that they stuck to the game plan despite some early adversity because they knew if they stuck to their principles, a win would follow.

The Cyclones weathered the early storm from the Wildcats and were able to change the momentum as the first half wore on. Easily the biggest play of the game was when Iowa State corralled the loose ball off a Milan Momcilovic missed shot.

We've Unlocked The Video!#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/DJt2wclh3l
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 24, 2026

Blake Buchanan, Killyan Toure and Momcilovic all hustled for the rebound. It rolled out back toward the 3-point line, where Momcilovic picked it up and swished home a 3-pointer to kickstart an 11-0 run that resulted in Iowa State taking a one-point lead into halftime that they would never relinquish.

Lipsey helped keep the team afloat early on when things weren’t going in their favor. He was aggressive, attacking the basket and drawing fouls so that he could get to the foul line, settling down the tempo.

After struggling with his foul shots all season long, he was excellent from the charity stripe against Kentucky, shooting 7-of-8. That, along with going 3-of-6 from 3-point range, resulted in him scoring a career-high 26 points.

The Fourth 26-10-5 Game in NCAA Tournament History.

Just Another Day for the Kid from Ames. #Cyclones | #C5C | @TaminLipsey

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— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 22, 2026

With the 10 assists, it was the fourth double-double of his career. The five steals also helped him make Iowa State basketball history, giving him 18 in NCAA tournament games, the most any men’s player has had in their career.

More unique Big 12/Eight history can be made if Lipsey scores 11 points in the Sweet Sixteen against the Tennessee Volunteers to reach 1,500 for his career.