Thursday, January 29th, 2026

#8 Iowa State Cyclones 97, Colorado Buffaloes 67.

Tonight Maxwell and I enjoyed watching the Cyclones cruise to an easy victory over Colorado.  The game really was a blowout from the start, as the Cyclones raced out to a 30-4 advantage to start the game. It was difficult to pick tonight's player of the game, but I will go with Tamin Lipsey, who scored 14 points and dished out 5 assists.  He was one of six Cyclones who were in double figures scoring.  The others were Jamarion Batemon (17), Milan Momcilovic (16), Joshua Jefferson (13), Killyan Toure (12), and Dominykas Pleta (12). 

I am always glad when one of the boys gets to cross off another conference opponent.  As of now, the only 5 Big 12 teams that Maxwell has not seen the Cyclones defeat are: Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Houston, and Utah.  Today's game was the 41st men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.  It was the second time that I have watched the Cyclones play the Buffaloes (that I can remember anyways). The previous game was in 2025.  

Maxwell was happy that Colorado scored "6-7".

Tuesday, January 20th, 2026

 Well, I have a lot to blog about today...

First, our family just got back from a fun vacation to Seattle!  Our flight got back to Minneapolis around 11:30 PM last night, and then we drove all the way home (it was about 3:45 AM when we got back to Ames).  We flew out to Seattle on Friday morning, so we had over 3 days out there.  The main reason for the trip was to visit Christian & Emily's family, and to meet baby Ellis!  Right now Oscar is 6 years old, Arlo is 3, and Ellis is 6 months.  

In Seattle we were able to check out Pike Place Market, we stopped by to add to the gum wall, and we had the kids play at a few different parks (Gas Works park was one that the kids really enjoyed). We also had plenty of good food, but my favorite was making our own crab and shrimp boil at Christian & Emily's place.  We bought a bunch of Dungeness crab, some shrimp, Andouille sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob, and Emily cooked it all in a big pot with some Old Bay seasoning.  Maxwell had really been looking forward to trying some crab, so I wanted to make sure that he had the chance.  Really the highlight of the trip was just letting all of the kids have some good time with their cousins.  

Elizabeth meeting Ellis for the first time!

The Salton family at Pike Place market.

All of the cousins at the gum wall.

 The other thing that I wanted to blog about today was #9 Iowa State's convincing 87-57 win over the UCF Knights.

The Cyclones really seemed to play well as a team, as five players scored in double figures.  The star of the show was Joshua Jefferson, who recorded another triple double!  Jefferson ended up with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists (and no turnovers). This was the 10th triple-double in Iowa State history, and I believe that Jefferson is now the first player in Big 12 history to record two triple-doubles in league play.  He was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Milan Momcilovic (20), Jamarion Batemon (12), Killyan Toure (12), and Blake Buchanan (11). 

Another fun thing to note is that this was Nolan's 50th ISU men's basketball game that he has attended!  Plus, he was able to cross UCF off of the list of conference teams that he needs to see Iowa State defeat.  The only 4 teams left that he has not seen ISU beat are Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, and Houston. I believe that this is Nolan's 17th conference win.  Oh, and Nolan even managed to grab a t-shirt at today's game!

As for myself, this is the second time that I have witnessed the Cyclones play (and defeat) UCF in basketball.  The previous time was last year's game, where the Cyclones won 108-83. 

Iowa State 87, Central Florida 57.

Saturday, January 10th, 2026

 #3 Iowa State 83, Oklahoma State 71.

Tonight I am happy because Maxwell was finally able to cross Oklahoma State off of his list of conference foes that he has seen ISU defeat, which now means that he has seen the Cyclones beat all of the "Old Big 12" teams. Of course there are still 6 other "New Big 12" teams that he needs to collect.  That includes Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Colorado, Houston, and Utah. Today's game was actually the third time that Maxwell has seen the Cyclones play against the Cowboys, including 2022 and 2018. This was the 40th men's basketball game that I have taken Maxwell to.

I believe that Oklahoma State is actually the conference opponent that I have seen play against the Cyclones the most, as today's game is the 11th meeting I have seen between the two teams. That includes Cyclone victories today and in 2024, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2015, 2014, and 2013. The Cowboys have won in 2022 and 2018. 

For today's game, I would say that Joshua Jefferson was the player of the game.  He led the team with 19 points.  He also chipped in 5 rebounds and 5 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring for the Cyclones by Milan Momcilovic (18), Killyan Toure (12), Tamin Lipsey (11), and Blake Buchanan (10). One thing about today's game was that there were tons of fouls called, and the teams combined to shoot 56 free throws.  That did make the game drag on longer than usual.

GO CYCLONES!!

Friday, January 2nd, 2026

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Tonight I am excited because Nolan and I just got back from Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the 3rd-ranked Iowa State Cyclones defeat West Virginia, 80-59.

The most memorable part of today's game was seeing Joshua Jefferson record a triple-double!  He had 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists!  Jefferson even added 3 steals and 2 blocks, so he really stuffed the stat sheet.  Milan Momcilovic also had quite the game for Iowa State, as he scored 26 points while shooting 8/10 from three.  They were joined in double figures scoring for ISU by Blake Buchanan (14) and Tamin Lipsey (12).  Jefferson's triple-double is only the 9th in team history for Iowa State. The Cyclones are a perfect 14-0 on the season, and 1-0 in Big 12 play.

Tonight's game was the 49th ISU men's basketball game that Nolan has attended, and it was the third time he has seen Iowa State take down the Mountaineers (2024 and 2022 were the others).  

As for myself, this was the eighth basketball game that I have seen between Iowa State and West Virginia.  That includes Cyclone wins in 2024, 2022, 2019, 2018, 2013, and tonight. the Mountaineers won in 2020 and in 2017. 

It is worth noting that I have also witnessed triple-doubles by Keshon Gilbert vs New Hampshire in 2023 and Monte Morris vs The Citadel in 2016. 

GO CYCLONES!