No. 5 Iowa State seeks its second top-10 win in three days Monday against Houston

AMES — Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger credited a spirited Hilton Coliseum crowd for an “assist” in Saturday’s stirring 74-56 win over ninth-ranked Kansas.

So what does the No. 5 Cyclones’ fifth-year head coach expect from his fans as an encore at 8 p.m. Monday against third-ranked Houston?

“Let’s run it back with some Hilton magic,” said Otzelberger, whose team (22-3, 9-3 Big 12) is in a three-way tie for third n the Big 12 standings, two games behind the league-leading Cougars (23-2, 11-1).

Another sold-out crowd of 14,267 will pack ISU’s venerable arena, hoping to see Otzelberger extend his program record for wins over top-10 teams from 14 to 15. The Cyclones’ slick-shooting forward, Milan Momcilovic described this pair of two high-profile games in a three day span “a big opportunity” before he led his team with 18 points in the rout of the Jayhawks. So how does he paint the picture for the “Big Monday” battle with Houston?

“Obviously a really quick turnaround,” Momcilovic, the nation’s top 3-point shooter, said. “Just gotta be ready for them because they’re obviously very physical, athletic — and they’re Houston. I mean, they’ve been really good in Big 12 play the last couple years and that’s kind of been their standard.”

The Cougars have won two straight Big 12 titles, but have only played at Hilton once since joining the league three seasons ago. ISU won that defense-driven game, 57-53, on Jan. 9, 2024, and a similarly pressure-packed low-possession game could transpire on Monday night.

Why? The Cyclones boast the nation’s fifth best defense in terms of efficiency according to KenPom. Houston checks in at No. 6. Both teams are comfortable operating late in the shot clock and still finding success on the offensive end of the floor — and both are also among the nation’s best at forcing live ball turnovers.

“We know how good they are and the problems that they pose,” said Otzelberger, whose team has been ranked in the top 25 for 46 consecutive weeks, which ranks second in the Big 12 behind the Cougars’ run of 119 straight weeks in the poll. “But we’ve got a lot of confidence in our group.”

So the Cyclones’ top players such as Momcilovic, Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson will be ready for Houston’s long list of headliners that includes Emmanuel Sharp, Kingston Flemings and Chris Cenac, Jr.

“We don’t really get too high or too low,” Momcilovic said.

Hilton, on the other hand, always rises to the occasion to provide a deafening boost just as it did while ISU handed Kansas its most lopsided loss in the series since 1973.

“(That) was an amazing experience,” said Cyclone freshman guard Jamarion Batemon, who scored 11 points off the bench and drilled three 3-pointers against the Jayhawks. “The fans came out. We expected them to come. They brought the energy.”

Now, as Otzelberger said, it’s time to “run it back” as ISU seeks to further bolster its already strong NCAA Tournament resume against the Cougars.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence in our fan base,” Otzelberger said.

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