The Iowa State Cyclones basketball teams will open their 2021-22 seasons at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday. The 12th-ranked Iowa State women host the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks at 11 AM, while the Iowa State men will host the Kennesaw State Owls in their opener at 7 PM.
The Iowa State women dominated Wisconsin-River Falls in their exhibition matchup, by a final of 99-41. The Cyclones are expected to be lead by Preseason All-American Ashley Joens, who averaged a school-record 24.2 points per game in 2020-21. Lexi Donarski will look to raise her profile even higher as sophomore, following a freshman season that saw her win Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Nebraska-Omaha enters Tuesday looking to build off a season in which the Mavericks finished 7-13, but reached the Summit League Championship Game. The Mavericks top scorers from 2020-21 return as well, with Elena Pilakouta and Josie Filer back. The duo combined to averaged 22.7 points per game a season ago.
As for the Iowa State men, they will begin the TJ Otzelberger-era with the Kennesaw State Owls. The new-look Cyclones will be lead by many new faces, including Penn State-transfer Izaiah Brockington, who averaged 12.6 points and just under 5 rebounds a game for the Nittany Lions a season ago. Caleb Grill will make his return to the Cyclones after spending a season at UNLV.
Kennesaw State enters Tuesday’s opener after finishing 5-19 a season ago. The Owls do return over 90% of their scoring production and total minutes from 2020-21, including top scorers Spencer Rodgers and Chris Youngblood, who combined to average 28.7 points per game last year. However, the Owls only averaged 65.5 points per game in ’20-21, while allowing nearly 70 points per game.