2024-25 Season Opener: Mississippi Valley State Primer

WHO: No. 5 Iowa State (0-0, 0-0 Big 12) vs. Mississippi Valley State (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)

Where: Hilton Coliseum (14,267) – Ames, Iowa

When: Monday, November 4, 2024 – 7pm CT

Watch/Listen: ESPN+ / Cyclone Radio Network

Tip: After their second Sweet 16 in the last three seasons, the fifth-seeded Cyclones will open the 2024-25 season against Mississippi Valley State on Monday night. Iowa State will look to win its seventh straight home opener, as the Cyclones have a 25-1 record in season openers over the last 26 years.

ISU will look to build on a successful 23-24 season in which the Cyclones went 29-8 and tied for the second-most wins in a season in team history. Iowa State reached the Sweet 16 for the seventh time ever and also won the Big 12 Championship for the fifth time in the last 10 tournaments.

Mississippi Valley State enters the opening round after a year that would be easy to forget, as the Delta Devils went 1-30 last season. MVSU will look to get its first win of the season since 1996 when it defeated Jacksonville State on the road.

Storylines:

• Iowa State returns its top four scorers from last season as 66 percent of its goal production is returned.
• Tamin Lipsey was an AP Honorable Mention All-American last season as well as a member of the First Team All-Big 12 and a member of the league's All-Defensive Team.

  • He led the team in rebounds, assists and steals last season while also being the team's second-highest scorer.

• Keshon Gilbertthe team's leading scorer in the 2023-24 season, returns for his senior season.

  • Gilbert was named Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Championship last season and also received recognition on both the All-Big 12 Second Team and All-Newcomer Team.

• Together with Gilbert, Curtis Jones returns for its fifth season.

  • Jones was one of the most dynamic sixth men in the country last year, scoring in double figures in 17 of the last 19 games off the bench.

• Dynamic sophomore wing Milan Momcilovic also returns for ISU, completing the team's top four scorers from a year ago.

  • Momcilovic earned All-Championship Team honors last year as well as All-Freshman Team honors.

• Iowa State will look to add five freshmen to the group this year Nate Heise, Dishon Jackson, Joshua Jefferson, Brandton Chatfield And Nojus Indrusaitis will all be in the first year of the program,
• Demarion Watson is back for his junior year along with redshirt freshmen JT Rock And Kayden Fish. Fan favorites Conrad Hawley And Cade Kelderman also back.

From the notes:

• As a head coach TJ Ötzelberger is 169-98 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 70-35 record over the last three seasons.
• Under Otz, ISU is 37-8 against non-conference opponents. The 38 wins are the seventh most in the nation and the winning percentage of .822 is the sixth best.
• Iowa State has won 18 straight home games at Hilton Coliseum, tying it as the fourth-longest active home winning streak in the country.
• Coach Otzelberger is the only Iowa State men's basketball coach to lead multiple teams to the Sweet 16.

  • Otz will attempt to become the first coach in program history to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first four years of coaching.

• Iowa State enters the season ranked No. 5 by the Associated Press.

  • It is the highest ISU score ever achieved in a season.
  • It's only the third time Iowa State has been ranked among the preseason top-10 AP teams.
  • The last time Iowa State played a regular season game as a top-five team was in 2015 against UNI in Des Moines.

• Iowa State will play in its 54th season at Hilton Coliseum this year. The Cyclones won their 600th game in the building last year against Iowa.
• The Cyclones are 27-1 TJ Ötzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
• ISU finished last season ranked No. 8 in KenPom, No. 6 in NET and No. 5 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index. This year, ISU is ranked No. 5 in the AP poll and No. 6 in the coaches poll.

Changing sides:

• Iowa State and Mississippi Valley State meet for the eighth time on Monday night. All seven previous meetings took place in Ames, with the Cyclones winning each game by an average margin of 31.
• MVSU will look to get its first road win since Feb. 4, 2023, when it won at Jackson State.
• The Delta Devil roster consists of six freshmen transfers and three freshmen. Donovan Sanders, Walter Hamilton, Markell Petro, George Ivory III, Alvin Stredic and Daniel Umoh all return.
• Mississippi Valley State head coach George Ivory is in his fourth year at the helm of the Delta Devil program. Ivory is 6-60 at MVSU and is coming off a season in which the team finished 1-30 (1-17 SWAC).

  • Overall, Ivory is 133-329 in his 17-year head coaching career, which includes a 13-year stint at UAPB.
  • Ivory is a former Delta Devil men's basketball player and the program's all-time assists leader.

• MVSU finished last season ranked No. 362 in KenPom, No. 362 in RPI and No. 362 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.