No. 8 Iowa State bids to pick up steam vs. Colorado

After a brief stumble, No. 8 Iowa State will try to win its third straight game on Thursday night when it meets Colorado in a Big 12 Conference matchup in Ames, Iowa.

Iowa State (18-2, 5-2) dropped decisions at Kansas on Jan. 13 and Cincinnati four days later to tumble from No. 2 in the rankings. Coach T.J. Otzelberger lamented his team's poor starts in those games but has seen that trend halted in blowout wins over UCF and at Oklahoma State.

With the next three games against teams with losing records in the conference, the Cyclones have a chance to build on their best start (16-0) in program history.

Iowa State is led by Milan Momcilovic (who averages 18.8 points per game), Joshua Jefferson (17.4) and Tamin Lipsey (13.2) but has received contributions from several players. Freshman big man Dominykas Pleta stepped up when Jefferson, the team's leading rebounder at 7.8 per game, got into foul trouble in the second half against the Cowboys on Saturday.

Pleta had eight points in the win over the Knights on Jan. 20. Minutes can be tough to come by on a squad that goes eight deep most nights, but Pleta has a chance to carve out a role for the Cyclones.

"He can give us some great screening, some physicality on the offensive glass, sealing guys around the basket," Otzelberger said. "He's got really good hands, and he can score."

Iowa State swept the season series against Colorado in 2024-25, the Buffaloes' first in the Big 12 after more than a decade in the Pac-12 Conference.

Colorado (12-8, 2-5), which has dropped five games in a row since opening with conference wins against Arizona State and Utah, is struggling on defense. The Buffaloes gave up 95 points in a nine-point home loss to to UCF on Saturday.

"(UCF) was a step backwards, for sure. But I thought against even West Virginia (a 72-61 loss on Jan. 17), and even Kansas (a 75-69 setback on Jan. 20) ... I felt like we were making some improvement," Colorado coach Tad Boyle said of his team's defense.

"But (Saturday) it was like, not so much. It's just that grit that's pound-the-table, get in the huddle like, ‘Guys, we've got to fix this.' I feel it coming from our coaching staff. But I don't feel it coming from our players.

"We've got some coaches on our staff that have been around, that are really good. But we're just not good enough on that end of the floor yet. We've got to make that jump. And until we do, these losses will keep mounting up."

Scoring hasn't been a problem, as Colorado is averaging 82.6 points a game. The Buffaloes are led by freshman guard Isaiah Johnson, who is averaging 16.2 per game.

Barrington Hargress is second at 14.2 ppg, freshman Sebastian Rancik contributes 13.3, and Bangot Dak adds 11.1 to go with 7.4 rebounds per game.