No. 17 BYU to Face No. 12 Iowa State in Big 12 Tournament Opener
BYU basketball will kick off its Big 12 Tournament campaign with a matchup against Iowa State.
Iowa State secured a victory over Cincinnati on Wednesday to advance to face BYU. The 4-seed Cougars received a double-bye in the tournament this year, primarily due to their double-overtime victory over Iowa State on March 4 in Ames.
BYU’s 88-85 win over ISU in double-overtime was one of the standout games in the Big 12 this season.
Rematch
Kevin Young’s team triumphed despite turning the ball over 29 times.
After the win in Ames last week, Young was asked about the prospect of a rematch with the Cyclones in Kansas City. His immediate response was, “Don’t turn the ball over.”
He later added, “As a competitor, that’s the kind of challenge you look forward to—hoping to correct mistakes from the March 4 game … this is going to be a big-time matchup.”
“BYU’s a strong program. They came in and hit us hard early on,” said Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson on Wednesday. “We just need to come out with urgency tomorrow. That’ll help us get the job done.”
The win in Ames helped the Cougars maintain an eight-game win streak, playing some of their best basketball heading into the postseason.
BYU is comfortably positioned in the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection, as is Iowa State.
Stacking Days
This brings up the question of how significant this game is for a surging BYU squad. Young is focused on stacking more days, a mantra that has fueled his team’s approach this season.
“I always preface clichés by saying, ‘I know this is cliché, but…’ it really has been our mantra to take things one game, one day at a time. So, for me, that approach won’t change,” Young said.
Since joining the Big 12 Conference last year, BYU holds a 2-1 record against Iowa State. This will be the first time the Cougars will face T.J. Otzelberger’s Cyclones in Kansas City. Iowa State has claimed five Big 12 Tournament titles in the last 10 years, including last year’s win.
“We have a great deal of respect for their program. They’re playing at a very high level,” Otzelberger said of BYU on Wednesday. “They came into our arena and played exceptionally well to earn that victory. We’ll prepare like we do for every game, focusing on controlling what we can and being at our best tomorrow.”
Iowa State will have some key injury updates to monitor heading into Thursday’s Quarterfinals.
Injury Watch for BYU vs. Iowa State
Iowa State’s Keshon Gilbert, dealing with a muscle strain, played only 11 minutes in the win over Cincinnati on Wednesday, with none of those minutes coming in the second half.
Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey also suffered a groin strain. Lipsey told CycloneFanatic.com on Wednesday that he “should be good to go” for the BYU game.
Regarding Gilbert, Otzelberger said, “We’ll evaluate him tonight and in the morning to see how he feels.”
BYU has been without freshman forward Kanon Catchings for the past two games due to a knee injury, and his status remains day-to-day.
No. 17 BYU vs. No. 12 Iowa State
Quarterfinals – 2025 Big 12 Tournament
Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
Tip-off: 10:30 a.m. (MDT)/11:30 a.m. (CDT)
