ISU's Tamin Lipsey High on Hawkeye Scout

Cyclone Guard Focal Point of Iowa Preparations

Iowa’s Tony Perkins (11) shoots between the defense of Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey (3) and Caleb Grill (2) during their game on Dec. 8, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Tamin Lipsey drives an Iowa State offense that has plenty of balance.

Defending him, then, will be a challenge for Iowa in Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. game against the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

“I think he's got a complete skill set,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said on Wednesday. “I think he's got an aggressive mindset. And he's got a great feel.”

Lipsey leads the Cyclones (6-2, 16 NET) in scoring at 15.1 points per game, one of four Iowa State players who average in double figures. He also has 50 assists against 19 turnovers, and is eighth nationally in steals, averaging three per game.

“I think they use him, taking full advantage of his talent so I think he's playing, as a result, at a very high confidence level,” McCaffery said. “And he's made a concerted effort to affect the game at both ends of the floor, so you’ve got to give him credit for that.”

But the Cyclones can attack you in different ways. Keshon Gilbert averages 14.8 points per game, Milan Momcilovic averages 13.6 points, leading Iowa State with 21 3-pointers. Tre King averages 10.1 points.

“They’re a good team,” McCaffery said. “I mean, they're typically balanced every year. I think they've done a good job with transfers and getting them to play together. I think that's been impressive. That's not always easy to do.

“They buy in defensively and they share the ball. but they've got a bunch of guys that have been around, they know what they're doing, and they play together. So they've got a good combination of size and speed. That's why they're good and that's why it's always a challenge.”

The game comes in the middle of a crucial three-game stretch for Iowa (5-3, 32 NET). The Hawkeyes are coming off an 87-68 loss at Purdue in Monday’s Big Ten opener, and then they get back into conference play with Sunday’s home game against Michigan.

Iowa fell behind early against Purdue and could never recover. That can’t happen against the Cyclones, who rank seventh nationally in scoring defense.

“There were a lot of things that we didn't do well,” McCaffery said. “Our ball-screen defense wasn't great. Our post defense is obviously going to be complicated with Zach (Edey) but we've got to rebound better. I know they're really big. And (Edey) is particularly difficult to handle but our offense has to flow a little bit better, but it obviously helps when you get a few more stops.”

OTHER NOTES

— Iowa State ranks third nationally in turnover margin and eighth in turnovers forced per game. Iowa ranks ninth in turnovers per game at just 8.9.

— Iowa has won four of the last five and seven of the last nine in the series. The Hawkeyes hold the all-time lead in the series, 48-28. McCaffery is 6-6 in the series.

— Iowa leads the Iowa Corn CyHawk Series 7-6. The two schools meet in women’s basketball on Wednesday and in women’s swimming on Friday.

— After this game, Iowa will play three of its next four games at home.