The 2021–22 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

during the

2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2021 and concluded on March 13, 2022. The 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament culminated the season and began on March 15 and concluded on April 4 with the c ...

. The Cyclones were coached by T. J. Otzelberger, who is in his first season as head coach, and ninth season at Iowa State. They played their home games at

Hilton Coliseum James H. Hilton Coliseum, is a 14,267-seat multi-purpose arena located in Ames, Iowa. The arena opened in 1971. It is home to the Iowa State University Cyclones men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling, gymnastics and volleyball teams. Over ...

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...

as members of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

. The Cyclones started the season 12–0, good for one of the best starts in school history, including being crowned the champion of the

NIT Season Tip-Off The NIT Season Tip-Off (National Invitation Tournament) is an annual college basketball tournament that takes place in November of each year, toward the beginning of the season. The first two rounds are held at campus sites, while the semifinals a ...

with wins over 25th-ranked Xavier and 9th-ranked

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

. In Otzelberger's first season as head coach he claimed the best start to an Iowa State coaching career by winning his first 10 games, ultimately winning his first 12 games before losing at home to #1 Baylor to end his unbeaten start at Iowa State.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the

Cyclones In meteorology, a cyclone () is a large air mass that rotates around a strong center of low atmospheric pressure, counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere as viewed from above (opposite to an ant ...

finished the 2020–21 season 2–22, 0–18 in Big 12 play to finish in last place. They lost to

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

in the first round of the Big 12 Conference tournament. Following the winless conference season, the school fired head coach

Steve Prohm Steven Marshall Prohm (born July 12, 1974) is an American basketball coach who most recently served as the head coach at Murray State University from 2022 to 2025. Previously, he was the head coach at Iowa State University, a position he had hel ...

after six years in Ames. On March 18, 2021, it was announced that the school had hired

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

head coach and former Iowa State assistant Otzelberger as the team's new head coach.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2021 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

This is the second season that Big 12 Now on

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

will air a number of Big 12 games. On May 20, 2021, Iowa State announced it would play in the 2021 NIT Season Tip-Off on November 24 and November 26. The tournament also featured Memphis,

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, and Xavier. On June 2, the Big 12 announced matchups as part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle, with Iowa State traveling to

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

to play Creighton and former Iowa State head coach

Greg McDermott Greg McDermott (born November 25, 1964) is an American basketball coach who has been the head coach of the Creighton Bluejays men's basketball, Creighton Bluejays men's basketball team since 2010. Previously, McDermott served as the head coach a ...

. The game will be played on December 4.

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

will then travel to Ames as part of the

Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series is an annual athletic competition between Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. On April 12, 2011, it was announced that the competition would be sponsored by the Iowa Corn Promotion Board and the Iowa Co ...

on December 9. On June 23, it was announced that the Cyclones will face

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. On June 30, Iowa State announced its nonconference schedule. , - !colspan=12 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=12 style=, Big 12 Tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

*''AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.''
^''Coaches do not release a Week 1 poll.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2021-22 Iowa State Cyclones Men's basketball team Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball seasons

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State be ...

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball The Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represents Iowa State University (ISU) and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I. The Cyclones play their home games at Hilton Coliseum on Iowa State's campus. History Early years ...