Iowa State Basketball: 2024-25 season preview for the Cyclones
By Joey Loose
Schedule Outlook
There won’t be any early challenges for the Cyclones in what’s honestly an extremely underwhelming nonconference slate. The first three games of the season are easy home date with weak mid-major opponents and those aren’t the only gimmies on this schedule.
Fortunately things heat up late in the opening month, as the Cyclones head to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational. They’ll face a very strong Auburn squad on November 25th, face either Dayton or North Carolina on the 26th, and then have their third game a day later. This is without question the challenging stretch for the Cyclones before Big 12 play, and it’s a tournament they can definitely win.
On December 4th, the Cyclones return to the action on their home court, facing Marquette as part of the Big 12/Big East Battle. Just over a week later, they have their annual rivalry matchup with Iowa, with this year’s edition in Iowa City on December 12th. After that, it’s just a couple more easy matchups before the holiday season.
A highly anticipated conference season starts with a trip to Colorado right before New Year’s, reuniting the Cyclones with an old league rival. The Cyclones have important home dates with Baylor and Kansas early in the season, and actually won’t have a return trip to Waco this year. They’ll face teams like Kansas and Kansas State both home and on the road, but only get one shot at a few other foes.
They only get one shot at a strong Houston lineup and it comes on the road on February 22nd. They’ll get two looks at Arizona, including a date in Ames in early March. Senior Night comes against BYU on March 4th before the regular season comes to a close that weekend at Kansas State.