Iowa State Cyclones' Freshman Proves Elite Defensive Abilities Against Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa State Cyclones showed up defensively in their win against the Iowa Hawkeyes

Iowa State men’s basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger talks to media at the university Sukup Basketball Complex on June 24, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to move to a perfect 10-0 following a victory against their rival, the Iowa Hawkeyes. In the win, they were able to shut down one of the best guards in the country offensively. 

Coming into the matchup, the Cyclones were feeling great after blowing out the No.1 team in the country on the road. The win against the Purdue Boilermakers was a statement by Iowa State that it is a genuine title contender. 

With the matchup against the Hawkeyes being a rivalry game, the team figured to be ready for them. However, they might have had a little hangover from the big road win, and they got off to a slow start in the first half. 

Fortunately, despite it being their worst half of basketball all year, they were only down by eight points and were still very much in the game. To start the second half, it was the defense that helped start a 14-0 run, and then a 22-4 extended run.

With the defense playing well, a lot of credit has to go to a freshman guard who was able to shut down one of the best guards in the country. 

Bennett Stirtz Struggles

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Coming into the matchup, one of the keys for Iowa State to have a good game was to slow down the talented guard of the Hawkeyes. Coming into the matchup, Stirtz was playing like one of the best guards in the country, averaging 18.8 points per game. He was undoubtedly the top player to watch for the Cyclones’ defense. 

In his first Cy-Hawk matchup, the talented Killyan Toure got the assignment of guarding Stirtz quite a bit in this game, and he delivered on the defensive end. The talented guard of the Hawkeyes had one of his worst offensive performances of the season and did virtually nothing against Toure. 

While Iowa was able to get Stirtz into some favorable matchups against Milan Momcilovic on switches, it was Toure who was mainly able to contain him. Overall, Stirtz totaled just 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field. 

In a game in which the Cyclones didn’t have their best on the offensive end of the court, their stellar defense saved them in this one. Toure might only be a freshman, but he is proving to be an excellent defender, as demonstrated against one of the best guards in the country.