Another Signature Win Should Secure Iowa State Basketball a Two Seed

Coming off a big win against the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Iowa State Cyclones knew they would be in for a bit more of a test. That ultimately ended up being the case in their second matchup of the year against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, but the Cyclones were able to pull away late.

From the start, the Red Raiders came out really hot from the field. It felt like things were picking up right where they left off for them in Ames, where they shot the lights out. Despite some good defense, Texas Tech made tough shots and built themselves a nice lead of 12.

However, even though things didn’t start out well, Iowa State was able to methodically work their way back into the game. A lot of that started on the defensive end of the court. The Cyclones kept up the pressure, and the Red Raiders fortunately started to miss some shots. With a late three-pointer at the end of the first half, Iowa State was able to complete the comeback and held a 36-33 lead at halftime.

Cyclones Come Alive in Second Half

The All-American has Taken This One Over!

That's 10 Double-Doubles for J Jeff this season.#Cyclones | #C5C | @Joshua_LV0 pic.twitter.com/i6AfVuw2RP
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 12, 2026

While it was a hot start that propelled Iowa State to win against the Sun Devils, it took them a bit longer to get going against Texas Tech. However, once the Cyclones got going, it was an impressive performance.

With revenge being on their mind, Iowa State controlled this game in the second half, and their success really started well before that. In the win, it was the senior leaders of the team who really helped carry them.

Coming off an impressive performance against Arizona State, Joshua Jefferson put together another big game and recorded his 10th double-double of the campaign. The forward is playing at a really high level right now and looks very much like the player from earlier in the year when the Cyclones were playing at their best.

Furthermore, while Jefferson was great, so was Tamin Lipsey. The senior guard was able to help in the scoring department quite a bit and was excellent from beyond the arc.

With another signature win for the program against a ranked opponent, it will be interesting to see if they are now going to move to the two-line in bracket projections. Next up will likely be a rematch against the Arizona Wildcats on Friday night, barring them from being upset in their first game of the tournament.