AMES — Nostalgia blended beautifully with the present for Iowa State men’s basketball Saturday, as i
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AMES — Nostalgia mixed beautifully with the present for Iowa State men’s basketball on Saturday.
The Big 12 title teams of the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 seasons were celebrated at the halftime ceremony and their return was warmly welcomed. Even by the 14,267 people in attendance at Hilton Coliseum, they were too young to remember the tough times those teams had given their opponents.
For those who don’t know, ISU went 57-11 over those two seasons, winning a Final Four in 2000. It had just five league losses in that time. They were all on the road, and four went to overtime.
Larry Eustache coached those teams to play aggressive defense, but they also had offensive skills. Which brings us to 2025, where TJ Otzelberger’s No. 3 Hurricanes are similar. They attack on both ends of the floor. On Saturday they drilled No. 25 Baylor 74-55.
The Bears averaged 86.4 points with a rebound advantage of more than seven points per game. They made 29.7 percent of their shots and made seven. This was their lowest point total in almost two years.
“It was really important for us to honor this group appropriately, and to go out and be the best we can be, especially defensively,” Otzelberger said.
Otzelberger had his team watch film of those old tornadoes on Friday. On Saturday, they did what Utz wanted and performed like those older guys did.
“They play as hard as anyone in the country, if not harder, and they don’t do things that make them lose,” Eustache said of the Hurricanes’ 12-1 season.
“Iowa State, every inch of the field, plays hard. … It’s refreshing to watch. You don’t see that these days.”
In 2000, Eustache had a guard trio of Jamaal Tinsley, Cantrell Horton and Michael Nurse to go with All-American forward Marcus Feiser. You can’t double team anyone without them catching fire.
In 2025, Otzelberger rotates his excellent veteran backcourt trio of Keshawn Gilbert, Curtis Jones, and Tammin Lipsey, stretches the floor with forward/three-point shooter Milan Momcilovic, and gets plenty of first-year Hurricane stars Joshua Jefferson and DeShaun Jackson. And Brandton Chatfield.
Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic (22) acknowledges an assist from guard Keshawn Gilbert (10) during the Cyclones’ 74-55 win over Baylor on Saturday at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. (Nick Ruhlman/The Gazette)
“We have strikers in every position,” Momcilovic said.
“We can win in a lot of different ways,” Gilbert said. “Even if we don’t turn people over, our defense comes first, and that’s what happened tonight.”
Otzelberger’s top three ISU teams — all of which reached the NCAA Tournament with two teams reaching the Sweet 16 — did not have the offensive weapons of a team this season. His first two teams were from the Mills, a 54-49 win over Wisconsin in the NCAA second round.
The current versions are fun for hoops fans and full of variety. Gilbert, a 6-foot-4 guard, grabbed 10 rebounds to go with 16 points. Jefferson, a 6-foot-9, 240-pounder, had eight assists Saturday and eight steals in a Big 12 win over Colorado four days ago.
Iowa State won 39 straight home games from February 1999 to November 2001. Today’s Hurricanes extended their streak to 26 on Saturday.
Baylor, 65-23 in the Big 12 since the 2019-20 season, fell to 6-0 here and never caught up. It was a game reminiscent of many games played here 25 years ago.
“We’re fortunate to play in the best home stadium in the country with the greatest fans, and those guys (from 1999-2001) had a huge role in that because a lot of our fans have tremendous memories,” Otzelberger said. Of those chapters.”
There’s a lot of ball left this season, a lot of tough games at home and away. However, you hear more basketball players say something like this all the time: These Hurricanes could be more than just very good.
Baylor coach Scott Drew knows what an elite team looks like, having led the Bears to the 2021 national championship.
“TJ not only has a good team, he has an experienced team and has done a great job growing together.” Drew said.
“I’ve said it all year. I think Auburn and them are the two best teams in the country.
Utah plays here Tuesday night. Lots of luck, utes.
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