February 28, 2026; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats guard Jayden Bradley (0) attempts to steal the ball from Kansas Jayhawks guard Melvin Council Jr. (14) during the second half at McKale Memorial Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images No. 2 Arizona can clinch the Big 12 regular-season championship and a No. 1 seed in the conference tournament with a win over No. 4 Iowa State on Monday in Tucson, Arizona.
Arizona (27-2, 14-2 Big 12) will face the Cyclones (24-5, 11-5) for the first time this season.
Texas Tech, which is 12-4 in the league, is still in contention to share the regular season Big 12 title and earn a top seed in the conference tournament if it wins its last two games and Arizona loses its last two games.
Iowa State lost 82-73 to the Red Raiders on Saturday. The Cyclones suffered their first loss at home this season after getting off to a 15-0 start.
“Obviously we wanted to go undefeated at home, so it stings a little bit,” guard Tamin Lipsey said. “But at the same time, we have Arizona and another home game (regular season) to finish, so there’s no need to frown at this point.”
Rebounding was a concern for Iowa State, which lost in that category 35-29 against Texas Tech despite the Red Raiders missing center JT Toppin for the rest of the season due to an ACL injury.
Arizona is coming off a 48-26 upset of No. 14 Kansas with an 84-61 home win over the Jayhawks on Saturday.
“We have to do a better job as coaches in terms of rebounding effort, rebounding with both hands, finishing on the glass, finishing plays by any means necessary,” Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger said. “Eventually we’ll get back to work. We understand that when we’re successful, we win the rebounding battle. When we lose, we don’t.”
Arizona State and Iowa State have contrasting styles.
Arizona leads the conference with 87.1 points per game and has one of the most prolific scoring offenses. Conversely, Iowa State ranked third in the Big 12 by allowing just 65.5 points per game, and the Cyclones led the Big 12 by forcing 15 turnovers per game.
“We’ve already started scouting (Iowa State),” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said after the win over Kansas. “We started with scouting and I think they had a tough game at home against Texas Tech. I’m sure they’ll come here hungry.
“They’re a unique team that can compete on both ends of the floor, so we’re going to have to dig deep and come up with a plan and see if we can come out and execute on Monday night. It’s definitely going to be another great atmosphere and Senior Night.”
Arizona will honor seniors Jaden Bradley, Anthony Dell’Orso, Tobe Awaka and Evan Nelson.
Bradley averaged 13.8 points and 4.6 assists per game. He will often match up with Lipsey (13 points, 5.1 assists, 2.1 steals per game).
Dell’Orso, Awaka and Nelson come off the bench. Dell’Orso recently had back-to-back 22-point performances against BYU and Houston.
Awaka and post player Motiejus Krivas combine to help Arizona lead the Big 12 in average rebound margin with a plus-11.9. Awaka is averaging 9.4 rebounds per game while Krivas is averaging 8.4 rebounds.
Joshua Jefferson is Iowa State’s leading rebounder with 7.4 per game.
A matchup to watch is Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic taking on Ivan Kharchenkov on the perimeter.
Momcilovic attempted 214 3-point shots and had a success rate of 50.9%. His 109 3-pointers are just 61 fewer than Arizona has made as a team this season.
–Field level media
