Three Ways Iowa State Basketball Avenged Their Loss Against Texas Tech

Here's how the Iowa State Cyclones were able to get some revenge against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Mar 12, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Christian Anderson (4) brings the ball up court around Iowa State Cyclones guard Killyan Toure (27) during the first half at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Just two weeks ago, the Texas Tech Red Raiders walked into Hilton Coliseum and gave the Iowa State Cyclones a hard time, causing them to lose their first game in Ames of the entire season. But when they met up two weeks later in the conference tournament quarterfinal game, everything changed.

Instead of a Red Raider domination, everything went well for the Cyclones, who rolled to their third win in a row, and booked a trip to the semifinals on Friday.

So how did everything change in just two weeks? It all started with the offensive firepower. While Texas Tech took a commanding early lead, Iowa State didn’t back down and instead got confidence and built their own momentum.

Reasons Iowa State Got Revenge

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson | William Purnell-Imagn Images

In the first matchup, Iowa State couldn’t score the ball at all, missing a plethora of shots. In this game, the Cyclones hit everything. Whether it was Jefferson pushing defenders away with his physicality and easily getting to the rim, or Tamin Lipsey finding open threes, the entire Iowa State team found what worked for them and focused on it.

Depth has been key for the team, and it was on full display in this game. While on the stat sheet it doesn’t necessarily show, tons of players stepped up all game. Jamarion Batemon was great beyond the arc while also being aggressive on defense, Killyan Toure hustled all game, and Nate Heise came in and set the tone. Texas Tech simply didn’t have as many players step up as Iowa State did, and that’s how they won.

In the first meeting between the teams, Texas Tech had six players in double digits of scoring, a feat they rarely achieve. Iowa State needed to stop them from achieving the same in the second meeting and only allowed two players to get double digit points. The Cyclones’ depth was able to do it all, and the Red Raiders simply could perform against some of the bench talent that Iowa State has.

Another massive reason that the Cyclones won was due to their defensive stability. Every single player fought for the loose ball, or got on the floor to grab a steal, while also boxing-out to get a rebound. The willingness to fight all game and come back to get the win was what was most impressive about how Iowa State played, and ultimately how they were able to win.