The Iowa State Basketball Player Who Needs To Perform Against Southern

The Iowa State Cyclones are counting on one of their players to keep up his strong performance.

Nov 6, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Tre Singleton (0) is defended by Southern Miss Golden Eagles guard Brandon Weston (20) at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Iowa State Cyclones have had a bit of a rocky start to the season, sitting at 1-1.

It began with a neutral-site loss to the Memphis Tigers, followed by a win over the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at home. Neither has been a great performance, but at least the season isn’t over, and Iowa State has plenty of opportunity to build back the preseason hype that they had.

The Cyclones take on the Southern Jaguars at home in the third game of the season. And this one is immensely important. Not to do too much, not to overcomplicate things. Just to make the right plays and make sure everything happens as planned.

The most important player for the matchup for Iowa State is sophomore forward Tre Singleton.

Tre Singleton needs to continue emerging for Iowa State

Nov 6, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Tre Singleton (0) scores against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Singleton is crucial in this game for two main reasons. First is his recent performances. Ever since transferring from the Northwestern Wildcats this offseason, he’s looked fantastic.

Whether it’s exhibitions or non-conference games, he’s been arguably the Cyclones’ best player, and he’s been riding the momentum every single game. In his most recent outing, he put up a career-high 28 points. The jump has been astronomical, and it needs to continue if Iowa State wants their success to sustain.

The other reason is scheme fit. Southern is not only a poor team defensively, but has really struggled to defend big men, especially the power forward. Singleton is the Cyclones’ best power forward option, and he’s started there all season. Based on what he showcased last time out, he should be able to dominate.

Be Hungry. #Cyclones | #C5C | @TreSingleton_ pic.twitter.com/Nemug8KEtl

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 9, 2026

He used post moves to his advantage, spinning off different players and shooting deep fadeaways. Singleton was also able to be in the right place at the right time and make plays out of it. His athleticism and physicality also helped, as he played above the rim at times while also simply being the more aggressive player in the matchup and getting the basket out of it.

The transfer forward has been really impressive this season, and Tuesday’s game against the Jaguars should be no different. His size and ability are going to be a nightmare for Southern to cover, and therefore they should really struggle against a guy with his skill set. Look for another 20+ point game out of Singleton against the Jaguars.

Iowa State has tons of talent on its team this year, but if they want to attack Southern properly, feeding Singleton in the paint is definitely the best way to get the most out of him and the team as a whole.