Tuesday, January 7th, 2025

 Tonight I took Nolan to the Iowa State men's basketball game, where the #3 Cyclones defeated the Utah Utes, 82-59.  Utah joined the Big 12 this year, along with Colorado, Arizona, and Arizona State. 

Today's game seemed a little sloppy at times, but the Cyclones still cruised to an easy 23-point victory.  The player of the game for Iowa State was Curtis Jones, who led the team with 23 points and had 6 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Tamin Lipsey (20), Joshua Jefferson (17), and Keshon Gilbert (15).  

With the victory, it crosses another conference opponent off the list for Nolan. This was the first time he has seen ISU defeat one of the "new Big 12" teams.  He still has Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cincinnati, Colorado, Houston, and UCF left.  Overall, this was the 40th men's basketball game that Nolan has attended. 

GO CYCLONES!!

Saturday, January 4th, 2025

 Happy New Year!  Today I took Maxwell over to Hilton, where we enjoyed watching a top-25 matchup between #3 Iowa State and #25 Baylor.  The Cyclones never trailed in the game, and they cruised to an easy 74-55 victory.  

Keshon Gilbert was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Milan Momcilovic (15) and Curtis Jones (14).  The Cyclones really played well on the defensive end, holding the usually high-scoring Baylor team to only 55 points.  During halftime of the game, there was a tribute to the 99-2000 and 2000-01 ISU basketball teams.  Most of the players from those teams returned, and even coach Larry Eustachy was there.  

This was the 8th time that I have attended a basketball game between Iowa State and Baylor.  The Cyclones came out on top five of those games (today, 2023, 2018, 2017, and 2013).  The stupid bears won in 2022, 2019, and 2015.  If it was up to me, I would have kicked Baylor out of the Big 12 Conference after their sexual assault scandal.  Anyways...

Today's game was the second time that Maxwell has seen the Cyclones play Baylor. The first time was back in 2017.  Overall, this was the 34th basketball game that Maxwell has been to, and it was his 9th conference win.  He still needs to see wins against Oklahoma State and all of the new Big 12 teams.  This was the fifth time that Maxwell has attended a game where ISU played against a top-25 team, and the Cyclones are actually 5-0 in those games.  The previous top-25 wins he has witnessed were: #7 Kansas in 2024, #7 Texas in 2023, #15 West Virginia in 2018, and #9 Baylor in 2017.  

Cy!

Iowa State 74, Baylor 55.

Sunday, December 15th, 2024

Today I took Nolan over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #3 Iowa State Cyclones defeat the Omaha Mavericks, 83-51.  The #3 ranking is tied for the highest ranking that the Cyclones have ever had!  

I would say that Keshon Gilbert was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he led the team with 16 points and had 4 assists.  He was one of 5 Cyclones in double figures scoring, as he was joined by Milan Momcilovic (13), Joshua Jefferson (13), Tamin Lipsey (11), and Nate Heise (10).  The Cyclones started out the game kind of sloppy, and midway through the first half the game was tied at 21.  However, the Cyclones would close out the first half on a 20-2 run that helped to decide the game.  

Today marks the fourth time that I have seen the Cyclones play (and defeat) Omaha.  The previous times were in 2018, 2016, and back in 2012.  As for Nolan, this was the second time he has been to a game against Omaha (2016), and it was his 39th men's basketball game overall.  

Iowa State 83, Omaha 51.

Sunday, December 8th, 2024

 Today I took Maxwell over to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the #6 Iowa State men's basketball team completely overwhelm the Jackson State Tigers, 100-58.  Jackson State is a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), and they are from Jackson, Mississippi.  

Today's game was the 33rd that Maxwell has attended.  One fun thing about today's game is that Maxwell was able to take a nice picture with Cy!  As for myself, this is the second time that I have seen ISU play Jackson State (2021 was the other time).  

I would say that Curtis Jones was the player of the game for the Cyclones, as he led the team with 19 points.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Milan Momcilovic (18), Dishon Jackson (17), Keshon Gilbert (16), and Joshua Jefferson (10).  The Cyclones forced Jackson State into 24 turnovers.  

Maxwell and Cy!

 

Wednesday, December 4th, 2024

 Tonight Nolan and I enjoyed watching the #6 Iowa State Cyclones win a showdown against #5 Marquette, 81-70.  Tonight marks the TENTH time that I have witnessed the Cyclones defeat a top-10 ranked opponent.  The previous games were:

• #7 Kansas in 2024
• #7 Texas in 2023
• #8 Kansas in 2023
• #5 Kansas in 2019
• #8 Texas Tech in 2018
• #9 Baylor in 2017
• #1 Oklahoma in 2016
• #9 Kansas in 2015
• #7 Michigan in 2013

As for Nolan, today's game is the 38th men's basketball game that he has attended.  This was the third time that he has seen ISU play a top-25 ranked team.  The previous times were the win against #8 Kansas in 2023 and a loss to #1 Baylor in 2022.  Nolan did a good job of paying attention during the game, and he wanted to do a cute little handshake with me every time Iowa State made a basket.  We even made it onto the jumbotron in Hilton thanks to Nolan, as he was able to scan the QR code and take a video of us on his phone!

Today's game was great.  There was a sold-out crowd that packed into Hilton, and it was a "white out", where everyone was encouraged to wear white.  Iowa State started out strong in the first half and led 46-37 at halftime.  Marquette did battle back to tie the game at 61 before the Cyclones went on a 14-0 run that took control of the game in the second half.  The player of the game for Iowa State was Keshon Gilbert, who scored 24 points and dished out 7 assists.  He was joined in double figures scoring by Joshua Jefferson (15), Curtis Jones (14), and Dishon Jackson (11).  This win should come in handy for ISU's resume on Selection Sunday.  

GO STATE!

Saturday, November 16th, 2024

 Today Nolan and I had a fun day filled with tailgating and the ISU football game, where we witnessed the Cyclones defeat the Cincinnati Bearcats, 34-17.

Although the final score was a bit lopsided, Iowa State only had a 3 point lead with about 4 minutes to play, when Rocco Becht collected a high snap and turned a broken play into a 15-yard touchdown run to give the Cyclones a 10 point advantage.  My favorite play of the game came in the 3rd quarter, when Stevo Klotz picked up a 1st down on a fake punt.  It was 4th down and 9 to go, and Klotz took a direct snap and rumbled 22 yards.  With the win, Iowa State improves to 8-2 on the season.

Today's game was Nolan's 12th football game, and it was the 4th time that he has seen ISU defeat a conference opponent.  The previous Big 12 victories that he has seen were UCF this year, at Kansas State in 2021, and Texas Tech in 2020.  Today's game was a night game, as kickoff was at 7:00.  By the time game was over and we were back home, it was almost 11:00... so it was a late night for us!  

GO CYCLONES!

Monday, November 11th, 2024

 Tonight I was able to take Nolan to the Iowa State men's basketball game, where the #7 Cyclones defeated the UMKC Kangaroos, 82-56. UMKC is a public university that had 15,327 students (as of 2023), and the Roos are members of the Summit League. 

Today's game was actually the fourth time that Nolan has seem Iowa State play UMKC.  The previous times were in 2019, 2014, and way back in 2013 (which was Nolan's first ever basketball game).  Overall, this was the 37th time that Nolan has been to a men's basketball game.  One fun part about today's game was that Nolan got his picture taken with Cy!

As for the game, Curtis Jones was the player of the game for the Cyclones.  He led the team with 20 points to go along with 5 assists and 5 rebounds.  The other double-digit scorers for Iowa State were Milan Momcilovic (16) and Dishon Jackson (13).  

CY!

Iowa State 82, UMKC 56.