Iowa State Cyclones Handle Oklahoma State Cowboys to Snap Road Losing Streak

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to have an excellent game on the road to end their woes away from home.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Killyan Toure (27) gets congratulation from men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger during the second half against UCF in the Big-12 conference game on Jan. 20, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Following the Iowa State Cyclones snapping a two-game losing streak earlier in the week, the team was seeking to build some momentum on Saturday against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

There was undoubtedly some concern for the Cyclones last week after they suffered two losses in a row to the Kansas Jayhawks and Cincinnati Bearcats. Even though the Jayhawks weren’t ranked at the time, they are now, making that loss look a little bit better. 

In each of those games, slow starts and sloppy play were the main contributors to why the team came up short. Prior to their most recent game against the UCF Knights, the team was clearly focused on improving in that area. 

While beating up on the Knights at home was good to see, how they performed on the road against the Cowboys was always going to be something to watch. The road woes will be forgotten about for a little while following this game. Iowa State completely jumped Oklahoma State in their home building with one of their best halves of the campaign. The Cyclones jumped out to a 51-21 lead in the first half and never looked back. 

Cyclones Shake Road Woes

Up at the Half#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/YiN8yTmhCq

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) January 24, 2026

The hot start to the game really set the tone for Iowa State in this one, and the team never looked back. One of the key things to watch early on has been how the Cyclones do at turning teams over. Against the Cowboys in the first half, they forced 10 turnovers, and that undoubtedly played a part in them getting off to a nice start. 

While the defense was excellent, holding Oklahoma State to just 21 points, the offense, led by Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson, was also great. These two combined for 35 points in the first half and just missed three shots combined. 

So yeah, he just hit another 🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/mg63xYPn3X

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) January 24, 2026

The Cyclones understandably saw some regression in the second half and the intensity did seem to let up a little. One player whoever that did not slow down was Momcilovic. The star shooter for Iowa State had another fantastic performance and continues to prove that he is one of the top scorers in the nation,

Even though this was a game the Cyclones were expected to win against a lesser opponent, it was encouraging to see the level of focus they played with in this game. Especially early, every possession seemed meaningful, and they played a near-perfect 20 minutes of basketball. While the second half might not have been perfect, it was a strong overall performance.