UConn freshman Sarah Strong was so good when the Huskies played Iowa State that Cyclones head coach Bill Fennelly couldn’t believe it.
Listen, we tried to tell everyone about Sarah Strong. We even made this handy dandy guide of stellar freshmen you need to know headlined by her. However, we realize that not everyone will pay attention to what we say. Sometimes, they have to see it in person, and that’s precisely what happened to Bill Fennelly.
On Tuesday, Strong went scorched earth on the Cyclones, dropping 17 points in the 3rd quarter alone, as she shot her way to a career-high 29 points. (She also added nine rebounds and four assists, because why not.) Postgame, Fennelly was stunned by what he witnessed. “I don’t know if you can put it into words,” he told the media. “There’s certain people — Geno’s had them over the years — that the game looks really easy and it just pisses you off…She was so much better live than on video.”
Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly on Sarah Strong: "I don't know if you can put it into words. There's certain people – Geno's had them over the years – that the game looks really easy and it just pisses you off (laughs)… She was so much better live than on video."
Three stars from Iowa basketball’s Cy-Hawk Series loss.
Iowa basketball (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) suffered a crushing 89-80 loss from Carver-Hawkeye Arena Thursday night vs. No. 3-ranked Iowa State (8-1, 0-0 Big 12) in the 2024 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
While the Hawkeyes roared out to a 44-37 halftime lead on 58.6% from the field, a dominant Iowa State surge coupled with a troublesome Iowa second-half shooting performance allowed the Cyclones to escape from a sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena victorious.
In addition to the poor second-half shooting by the Hawkeyes, being out-rebounded 29-18 by the Cyclones in the final 20 minutes certainly did not help their cause.
As a team, Iowa shot 28-for-63 (44.4%) from the floor, 11-for-28 from three-point territory, and 13-for-15 (86.7%) from the free-throw line. On the defensive side, Iowa collected 34 rebounds (26 defensive) in addition to five steals and four blocks for a combined nine forced turnovers.
While the cold second-half performance doomed the Hawkeyes, here are Iowa’s three stars from Thursday’s game that were difference-makers on the court.
Owen Freeman
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Freeman led the team in points with 16 on 5-for-8 (62.5%) from the field, including a rare 1-for-1 (100%) three-point shooting night. The sophomore forward also converted on 5-of-7 (71.4%) attempts from the charity stripe while recording five rebounds, three steals, and two assists in 26 minutes.
While Freeman was expected to have a bigger role against the Cyclones, his stat line was still more than respectable, especially against a very skilled Iowa State lineup.
Brock Harding
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Harding had another decent showing Thursday night by finishing with 10 points on 4-for-10 (40%) from the field to go along with eight assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 31 minutes.
Although Harding’s stat line does not necessarily pop off the box score, his ability to effectively facilitate the ball throughout the night proved to be well-appreciated by the Hawkeyes, especially in the first half.
Ladji Dembele
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Despite only playing 14 minutes against Iowa State, Dembele had the best shooting night of his Hawkeyes career and tied his season-high in points.
The sophomore forward finished with 11 points off 4-of-4 from the floor, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. In addition to his perfect shooting night, he also recorded four rebounds and one steal to round out his night.
Dembele’s ability to inject offense off the bench is one that the Hawkeyes will certainly look to utilize moving forward as the schedule becomes more rigorous later in the season.
Iowa will remain home for their next game on Sunday, Dec. 15, vs. New Orleans (2-6, 0-1 Southland Conference) from Carver-Hawkeye Arena at 1 p.m. CT.
The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network as well as through the radio on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.
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Three stars from Iowa women’s basketball’s Cy-Hawk win over Iowa State.
In Wednesday night’s Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game from Carver-Hawkeye Arena, No. 24 Iowa women’s basketball (9-1) roared back vs. No. 17 Iowa State (8-3) for an impressive 75-69 victory.
As a team, the Hawkeyes shot 26-for-61 (42.6%) from the floor, 8-for-26 (32%) from 3-point territory, and converted on 15-of-25 free throw opportunities.
After chasing the game for most of the contest, Iowa’s defense stood strong late in the fourth quarter against a pesky Cyclones attack to propel the Hawkeyes to a 17-4 run during the game’s final five minutes. Iowa’s relentless defense finished with 21 forced turnovers, 12 steals, and seven blocks.
Here are the Hawkeyes’ three stars that helped spur Iowa to a rivalry win on Wednesday night.
Lucy Olsen
Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Senior guard Lucy Olsen led the Hawkeyes’ offensive attack Wednesday by finishing with a team-high 25 points on 9-of-22 from the floor and 7-for-9 from the charity stripe. She also added five assists, two steals, and one rebound to her 36 minutes of playing time.
Like almost every game Olsen has been a part of, her dynamic scoring ability has proven to be vital to the success of the Hawkeyes and will need to continue as conference play looms.
Sydney Affolter
Matthew Holst/Getty Images
Senior guard Sydney Affolter had her best performance of the season Wednesday night with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, 3-of-6 from deep, and 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. She also tallied six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in her 30 minutes of game action.
Beyond her shooting, Affolter was a key cog in the Hawkeyes’ defensive effort as she pressured Iowa State into critical turnovers and early shots as the game came to a close.
For Affolter, Wednesday was a welcome sight as her play was pivotal in Iowa’s victory.
Hannah Stuelke
Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Junior forward Hannah Stuelke had another stellar game for the Hawkeyes with 13 points off 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 from the free throw line in 34 minutes of playing time.
Stuelke finished with nine (seven defensive) rebounds, four steals, two assists, and one block.
Iowa’s next game will be on Sunday, Dec. 15, when they travel to the Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich., for their first Big Ten conference matchup of the season vs. No. 19 Michigan State (9-0).
Tipoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT and will air on the Big Ten Network. As always, the game will also be available through the radio on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.
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Iowa basketball appears to be returning forward Seydou Traore ahead of its Cy-Hawk Series showdown vs. Iowa State.
It looks like Iowa (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten) has some good injury news ahead of tonight’s Cy-Hawk Series battle against No. 3 Iowa State (7-1).
Neither sophomore forward Seydou Traore or freshman forward Cooper Koch were listed for Iowa as out or questionable on the mandated Big Ten availability report prior to Thursday night’s contest against the Cyclones.
Traore suffered a bad ankle sprain on Nov. 26 against USC Upstate and hasn’t played since. Meanwhile, Koch has missed each of Iowa’s past three games for undisclosed reasons.
“Yeah, it’s just a bad sprain, so you just hope it’s a week or a few extra days rather than two, two and a half weeks, three weeks. You don’t know,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery told the Hawkeye Radio Network of Traore’s injury following Iowa’s win over USC Upstate.
Iowa is more than two weeks beyond when Traore exited Carver-Hawkeye Arena with the ankle sprain against USC Upstate.
These would be big additions for the Hawkeyes against an Iowa State team that is thought to be one of the Big 12 and nation’s finest.
Traore is currently averaging 6.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 41.9% from the field and 25.0% from 3-point range.
Koch averages 4.0 points and 2.2 rebounds per game on 50.0% field goal shooting and 44.4% from beyond the 3-point line.
Tipoff between Iowa and Iowa State is set for 6:30 p.m. CT from inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will be televised on FS1.
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Relive Iowa’s thrilling 75-69 win over No. 17 Iowa State through these terrific photos.
The 24th-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes (9-1) bounced back from a frustrating finish against Tennessee with a hard-fought rivalry victory over No. 17 Iowa State, 75-69.
Among the key takeaways versus the Cyclones, Iowa senior guard Lucy Olsen was once again terrific. Olsen dropped a team-high 25 points and added five assists and a pair of steals to help propel the Hawkeyes to victory.
Hawkeye senior guard Sydney Affolter tallied her season-high with 16 points. The Chicago native knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the win.
Junior forward Hannah Stuelke rounded out Iowa’s double-figure scorers with 13 on the night.
After turning the basketball over 30 times in its loss against Tennessee, Iowa had just nine turnovers against Iowa State. Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes forced 21 Iowa State turnovers which Iowa turned into a 24-6 points off turnovers advantage.
Relive a victorious Cy-Hawk Series night for Hawkeye fans through these tremendous photos.
Iowa basketball’s Owen Freeman reveals the moment he realized the intensity of the in-state rivalry with Iowa State.
As Iowa (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten) prepares for Thursday’s annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series clash vs. No. 3 Iowa State (7-1, 0-0 Big 12), Hawkeyes forward Owen Freeman shared the moment when the in-state rivalry became real.
As a sophomore hailing from Moline, Ill., Freeman admitted he did not truly understand the intensity between the Hawkeyes and Cyclones until joining Iowa last season.
When asked when he realized the rivalry’s intensity, he stated it was before the 2023 matchup when an Iowa State fan refused to enter a hotel elevator due to Freeman being an occupant.
“Kinda before the game last year,” Freeman said. “I remember we’re in the hotel and I’m the only one on the elevator. Some guy wearing a Cyclone shirt refuses to get on the elevator because I’m on there.”
Owen Freeman — who’s originally from Illinois — said the Iowa vs. Iowa State rivalry became real to him and a Cyclone fan refused to get on the elevator with him at a hotel in Ames last season. pic.twitter.com/gSXYPyHckH
While the instance is somewhat awkward between the fan and Freeman, the Hawkeyes forward stated that the little nuances of the rivalry are what truly made him understand the hatred between the two programs.
As for Thursday’s matchup against the Cyclones, Freeman will need to be a significant factor on both sides of the court in order for the Hawkeyes to spring the upset.
Freeman is currently averaging team-highs in points (16.8), rebounds (7.0) and blocks (1.6) per game. Freeman is shooting 64.4% from the field during the 2024-25 season.
The 2024 Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series will begin Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT from Carver-Hawkeye Arena and will be broadcast on FS1. As always, the game will also be available on the radio on the Hawkeyes Radio Network.
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Arizona State capped a remarkable turnaround with a BIg 12 Championship
Kenny Dillingham has a strong case for college football’s coach of the year with the magic he has worked at Arizona State.
The Sun Devils whupped Iowa State, 45-19, in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday. The victory was Arizona State’s 11th against two losses, earning it a spot in the College Football Playoffs.
Dillingham is in his third season as head coach at ASU. He took over a team that went 3-9 in 2022, went 3-9 in his first season and now is Big 12 champs with a chance to play in the national championship tournament.
The Sun Devils fell behind the Cyclones 7-3 in the first quarter. A Sam Leavitt run gave ASU a 10-7 lead before Iowa State tied it with a field goal.
Arizona State then scored the next 35 points turning the game into a blowout.
Cam Skattebo had two touchdown runs in the second quarter. After the break, Leavitt threw two touchdown passes to Xavier Guillory in 1:11 thanks to Iowa State turnovers as the game was broken open.
Iowa State lost another fumble and Skattebo took a swing pass 33 yards for an Arizona State touchdown. Skattebo had 170 rushing yards and 38 receiving.
Arizona State’s Shamari Simmons cost his team for a wicked hit
Everything was going Arizona State’s way on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship Game. Defensive back Shamari Simmons made a play in the fourth quarter that will cost the Sun Devils in their first — and possibly only — CFP game.
Simmons came through untouched on a blitz and blasted Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht.
While Becht was prone on the turf, Simmons and his teammates rejoiced.
That celebration was foolish and short-lived as a penalty flag had been thrown.
Simmons was ejected for targeting and that means he will be ineligible to play in the first half of the Sun Devils’ next game.
Becht walked off the field and was taken to the locker room for further treatment. He then returned to the Iowa State sideline, was given his helmet and said, “I’m good to go.”
Iowa State Cyclones cornerback Darien Porter could be a target for the Kansas City #Chiefs in the 2025 NFL draft.
The Kansas City Chiefs retain most of their cornerbacks for next year, but two become unrestricted free agents following the 2025 season. Kansas City should prepare for those eventual departures and the costly extension of Trent McDuffie by adding developmental corner depth in the 2025 NFL draft.
Iowa State Cyclones redshirt senior Darien Porter is a tall and lean corner with verified measurements from Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy that put him at 6’2 3/4″ and 192 lbs. He sports long arms that help him dominate at the catch point. This is Porter’s first season seeing significant defensive snaps, but he possesses the athletic tools and flashes to warrant a top-100 selection.
Porter ran a 46.99 400-meter dash in high school and won a state title in the 200-meter dash. That speed translates to the field. Even though his high hips cause some leggy transitions, Porter flashes the speed to carry receivers vertically out of press coverage. Wide receivers lack the speed to stack him on downfield routes or separate on crossers.
Porter decelerates with his quick feet to match more complex routes but faces some limitations in man coverage because of his tall frame and high hips. He triggers downhill from zone coverage to attack short routes and reads the quarterback’s eyes to anticipate throwing lanes.
At worst, Porter offers impressive special teams versatility. He played more than 860 total special teams snaps across five different units in college and blocked a punt in four consecutive seasons.
The Cyclones plan to rebound from their first loss of the season when they go on the road to face Kansas at 2:30 p.m CST. on Saturday, Nov. 9. The Jayhawks feature a talented trio of receivers to complement quarterback Jalon Daniels.
The Big 12 is having a fantastic year in football, but it’s going under the radar. Can the BYU Cougars and Iowa State Cyclones BOTH get the Big 12 into the College Football Playoff?
The Big 12 conference is well aware of how easily they can be unjustly left out of the biggest events of a college football postseason. The very first College Football Playoff left out a talented TCU Horned Frogs team and a great Baylor Bears team even though both teams were 11-1.
In 2016, the 2-loss Oklahoma Sooners were kept out even though they were a conference champion, while a non-conference champion Ohio State Buckeye team was let in. But this year? This year, if the results continue to roll in as they have, it will be a travesty if two Big 12 teams DON’T make the College Football Playoff.
We are halfway through the college football season, and the Big 12 has two undefeated teams. The No. 13 BYU Cougars and No. 9 Iowa State Cyclones are both 3-0 in Big 12 play and 6-0 overall. And, what makes this spicier, is that they won’t play each other until a hypothetical Big 12 Championship game in Arlington.
Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Is it a “Sure Thing?”
Both teams have games they might lose. BYU still has to play the Utah Utes in the “Holy War” rivalry game. While Utah still has questions to figure out, this is traditionally the epitome of the “throw out the record books.” Utah leads the all-time series 59-32-4, but BYU won their last matchup in 2021. This year? The vaunted BYU defense will likely get to feast on freshman quarterback Isaac Wilson. Yes, Isaac is the younger brother of BYU great and NFL quarterback Zach Wilson. Yes, that’s the “Holy War” for you.
Iowa State also has to play Utah, but they have to see the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-1, 3-0 in Big 12 play) and No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats as well. That’s three tough games in the back half of the season… but they’re also all played in Ames, Iowa.
In a year where the Notre Dame Fighting Irish sit at No. 12 in the AP poll with a loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies, why can’t both BYU and ISU make it? No. 8 LSU Tigers team has a loss to the unranked USC Trojans. The No. 11 Tennessee Volunteers have a loss to an unranked Arkansas Razorbacks (who are 0-1 against Big 12 opponents this year).
If the Big 12 football continues to have football so nice, why can’t the CFP invite it twice?
