March 7, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) heads to the basket while Arizona State University Sundevils forward Andrija Grbovic (14) defends during the first half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Image Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson each scored 16 points and No. 6 Iowa State dominated the middle 12 minutes of the second half en route to an 86-65 win over Arizona State in the regular-season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon in Ames, Iowa.
Jamarion Bateman added 13 points and Dominykas Pleta had 11 for Iowa State (25-6, 12-6 Big 12), which earned a fifth seed and a first-round bye in the Big 12 tournament.
Masamba Diop led the Sun Devils (16-15, 7-11) with 12 points, while Anthony Johnson and Maurice Odom each had 10 points. Arizona State is ranked 12th in the league and will play a 13th seed (Oklahoma State or Baylor) in the first round on Tuesday in Kansas City. The winner of that game will face the Cyclones in the second round.
The Cyclones trailed by four points at halftime, but swept into the lead after halftime, scoring 10 of the first 14 points.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Momcilovic and Jefferson gave Iowa State the lead with 14:57 to play, but that was just the beginning of a 24-0 run. Lipsey’s 3-pointer with 8:38 left pushed Iowa State’s lead to 65-45.
Arizona State went scoreless for 8 minutes and 45 seconds during this critical period and endured 10 minutes and 42 seconds without a field goal while missing 12 straight shots.
The Sun Devils put up a better fight in the first half. Arizona State led 22-21 after Allen Mukeba’s tip-in at 10:07, but went the next 6:44 without a field goal as it missed four straight shots and committed four turnovers.
The Cyclones used that stunner and ball-hawking defense to build a 35-26 lead, capped by two free throws from Momcilovic with 3:46 left in the first half. Odum capped Arizona State’s difficult run with a jumper and 3-pointer to get the Sun Devils within 35-31 with 2:36 to play.
After two free throws by Killyan Toure pushed Iowa State’s lead to 37-31, the Sun Devils scored the final 10 points of the half on five straight points from Johnson. Andrija Grbovic hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left to give Arizona State a 41-37 halftime lead.
–Field level media
