Iowa State Cyclones Must Improve in This Key Area Going Forward

This is a key area that the Iowa State Cyclones need to improve upon going forward

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger calls a play during the second half against Oklahoma State in the Big-12 men’s basketball on Jan. 10, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have suffered their first loss of the season, and the team will be trying to bounce back over the weekend. 

Road games in the Big 12 are never an easy thing, no matter how good a team is, and the Cyclones found that out the hard way. Despite the Kansas Jayhawks not playing up to their normal level this season, they were able to hand Iowa State a blowout loss for their first of the year. 

Even though the Jayhawks have had some struggles this campaign, they have a lot of talent, and star freshman Darryn Peterson is starting to get healthy. While this was a game that it felt like Kansas really needed to have, Iowa State was not sharp in this one right from the start. 

While they played a bit better in the second half and did make a little bit of a run, the poor start to the game was too much to overcome. 

Head coach T.J. Otzelberger recently spoke with William Seals of On3 about the slow starts for the Cyclones and how they can fix it moving forward. 

“I think if we do a great job commanding the ball and going to the offensive glass, our offense will be better. I think if we do a great job defensively, bringing all of our effort and execution right away, that will shore things up there.”

Certainly an Area to Improve

Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even though Iowa State has been fantastic to start the season, it hasn’t all been perfect. This is a team that has been a bit notorious for getting off to slow starts. While they have played some good teams, a slow start will catch up to a team. 

There are a couple of key things that have contributed to the slow starts, and one of them is turning over the basketball despite having some good guard play and a competent passer in Joshua Jefferson. Iowa State can sometimes get a little sloppy with the ball. Furthermore, creating some extra chances with offensive rebounds would also be ideal. 

Overall, there have been plenty of positives for the team this year so far, but starts to the game haven’t been one of them. From an offensive standpoint, they are trying to get their star shooter, Milan Momcilovic, going early as well. 

Next up for the Cyclones will be another road game against the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday afternoon. The team will undoubtedly be trying to get off to a better start and have a strong bounce-back performance.