KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Iowa State (5-2, 0-0 Big 12) dropped its second game in a row on Sunday night, falling to No. 12 Texas A&M (6-1, 0-0 SEC) in the third-place game of the ESPN Events Invitational by a score of 73-69.

After leading by as many as 21 points in the first half, uncharacteristic turnovers and a poor shooting performance allowed the Aggies to sneak back in the game before they ultimately wrestled away control in the second half.

Iowa State claimed fourth place in the Thanksgiving MTE, marking three top-four finishes across the past three seasons under T.J. Otzelberger (first place in 2021 NIT Tip-Off, second place in 2022 Phil Knight Invitational).

The Cyclones had four players score in double figures on the day, as freshman Milan Momcilovic led the way with 15 points, knocking down four 3-pointers. Keshon Gilbert had 14 points to go along with a season-high seven assists, knocking down a pair of triples and going 4-4 from the charity stripe. Tamin Lipsey and Curtis Jones rounded out the double-figure scorers, with Lipsey earning his second career double-double as he tallied 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

The Aggies had just two in double figures, as SEC Preseason Player of the Year Wade Baldwin IV was held in check for the most part by ISU, scoring 14 points on 5-15 shooting from the floor. Baldwin IV was forced into turning the ball over eight times. Solomon Washington led the way for TAMU, scoring 18 on 66.7 percent shooting with six boards.

How It Happened

Iowa State played its best basketball of the tournament in the first half, jumping on the former Big 12 foe early, holding a 12-point lead at the under-eight media timeout. A Momcilovic jumper and 3-pointer would extend the Cyclone lead to 17 with 5:38 remaining.

Back-to-back baskets from Jones pushed the ISU lead to its largest of the game – 21 – at the 2:44 mark as Iowa State held a 35-14 advantage.

The Aggies were able to close the first half strong, going on an 11-0 run, using a pair of threes and jumpers along with some free throws to trim the halftime deficit to 35-25. Gilbert led the Cyclones in scoring at the break with nine, while Washington led TAMU with 10.

Texas A&M started the second half like it ended the first, using another run to cut the ISU lead to just four by the under-16 media timeout. The Aggies would knot the score at 13:09 and take the lead with 12:30 left on an Andersson Garcia second-chance basket. From there, TAMU held the lead the remainder of the way.

The Cyclones were able to cut the lead to one five times in the final 12 minutes but were unable to get over the hump. ISU made things interesting late, as it was within one possession with under ten seconds left, but TAMU held firm to secure the win.

 Top Performer

As previously mentioned, Lipsey recorded his second career double-double, tallying a personal best 14 rebounds. He averaged a team-best 16.7 points per game in the tournament as well as a team-high 8.7 rebounds, setting the tone for the Cyclones in all three games. Lipsey also had 12 assists and nine steals across the last three games.

 Notes

• Tre King is three points short of 200 in his ISU career.
• Jackson Paveletzke played in his 40th career game today.
• Curtis Jones hit his 100th career 3-pointer today, knocking down a pair.
• Jones is three points short of 600 in his career.
• Keshon Gilbert surpassed 1,500 career minutes played today.
• Milan Momcilovic is one point shy of 100 on the season.

 What’s Next

Following the ESPN Events Invitational, Iowa State will hit the road for a Friday night game in Chicago against DePaul on December 1. Friday’s game is part of the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle and will tip off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised by FS1.

The Iowa State men squandered a 21 point first half lead and lost to Texas A@M 73-69 at the ESPN Events Invitational.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger who says 16 turnovers hurt their cause.

The Cyclones are 5-2 and visit DePaul Friday night.

For the 19th straight time the Cy-Hawk wrestling dual goes to Iowa. The Hawkeyes won six of 10 matches to edge Iowa State 18-14.

That’s Iowa coach Tom Brands who says the Hawkeyes have a lot of work to do.

A big turning point came at 174 pounds where Iowa State’s M.J. Gaitan had a late rally for short in a 14-13 loss to Iowa’s Patrick Kennedy. The ISU coaches were confused about the score in the waning seconds.

That’s Iowa State coach Kevin Dresser who called it a big moment in the dual.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake women’s basketball capped the inaugural Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic with a wire-to-wire victory, getting production throughout the lineup in beating Maine 72-56 at the Knapp Center on Sunday afternoon.

Courtney Becker drove for a layup off the opening tip, Taylor McAulay followed with a three-point play for a 5-0 lead and the Bulldogs (5-2) stayed on front the rest of the way to finish 2-1 in the holiday weekend event.

Anna Miller topped off a solid homestand with 17 points on 8-for-10 shooting to lead the Bulldogs, who shot 54.7 percent and enjoyed a 44-26 margin in points in the paint by taking the ball aggressively to the basket. Miller averaged 15 points and 7.3 rebounds and shot 60.6 percent in the round-robin tournament, scoring in double figures every game — the third time in her career she has done that for at least three straight games.

Grace Berg added 15 points and moved up three more spots on Drake’s career scoring list to No. 22, running her total to 1,362. Katie Dinnebier posted another strong line with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She and Miller were named to the all-tournament team.

McAulay finished with eight points and freshman Shannon Fornshell scored six on a couple of three-pointers. Berg led the Bulldogs with eight rebounds and five assists while going 6-for-11 from the field.

The Bulldogs went 2-1 in the tournament, beating Louisiana Tech on Friday and losing to Richmond on Saturday. Richmond went 3-0, Maine 1-2 and Louisiana Tech 0-3.

This was just the fourth meeting between the two programs and the first since Drake beat Maine 94-62 on Nov. 30, 2019 at the Gulf Coast Classic in Estero, Florida.

“It was fun to watch us start like that in the first quarter,” Suzie Glazer Burt head coach Allison Pohlman said. “Everyone was just ready to go. We were a proud group to realize we had won the second quarter especially considering that we’d given up a lot of offensive rebounds. We were able to manage the game well…Katie [Dinnebier] did a nice job, Ava [Hawthorne] had a solid game today. Taylor [McAulay] and Courtney [Becker] combined to go 5-for-7 from the field and played well defensively…just another example of our group being ready to go today.”

The Bulldogs will have a chance to catch their breath this week before heading north to play at Minnesota on Saturday, Dec. 2. The game tips at 1 p.m. Drake then has consecutive home games with North Dakota State on Dec. 8 and Creighton on Dec. 17.

Iowa is a massive underdog as the 18th ranked Hawkeyes prepare for the Big Ten Championship against second ranked Michigan. The Wolverines are 12-0 and crushed the Hawkeyes 42-3 in the title game two years ago.

That’s Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz who says being an underdog in a big game is nothing new for the Hawkeyes.

Despite injuries to several key players and an offense that only scored 11 touchdowns in nine conference games the Hawkeyes scratched and clawed their way to a 10-2 record.

Ferentz expects Drew Stevens to resume the kicking duties against Michigan. Marshall Meeder kicked the game winning field goal at Nebraska after Stevens had two field goals blocked and had two kickoffs go out of bounds against the Huskers.

Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh returns to the sideline after a three game suspension from the Big Ten in the midst of a sign stealing scandal. He was also suspended by the school for the first three games due to an NCAA investigation.

Harbaugh says the Big Ten title game is the next step for his team.

Harbaugh was asked about playing an Iowa team that is known for winning ugly.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Iowa State (2-3, 0-0 Big 12) dropped game two at the South Point Shootout against Syracuse (5-1, 0-0 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.

The Cyclones battled with the Orange, trading leads throughout the first half and entering the halftime break tied, 39-39. But Syracuse opened up an 11-2 run to start the second half that ISU could not come back from.

Audi Crooks led the Cyclones with 23 points, tying her season-high for the second 20-point game of her career. Addy Brown finished with her first career double-double, adding 19 points and 10 rebounds to the Iowa State cause.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Following a Syracuse basket, Crooks and Brown made buckets on back-to-back trips down the floor. Neither side was able to get a comfortable lead throughout the first quarter, as Iowa State held the largest lead of the period at three points. Nyamer Diew led the Cyclones with seven points in the quarter while Audi Crooks and Addy Brown each chipped in six apiece. ISU shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the period. The first quarter featured seven ties and six lead changes.

After trading scores for the first three minutes of the second period, Syracuse went on a 6-0 run to lead 31-26 with 5:57 left in the half. The Cyclones rallied with 10 of the next 15 points with 3-pointers from Arianna Jackson and Brown and two buckets from Crooks. Following a three-point play by Syracuse, Brown knocked down her second triple of the day to tie the game heading into halftime.

Iowa State fell victim to an 11-2 Syracuse run coming out of the break. Hannah Belanger knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Cyclones within 50-44 before another five-point spurt put the Orange back up by nine. Isnelle Natabou’s layup followed by another Brown triple got ISU within six with just under five minutes remaining in the quarter, but the two teams traded baskets the rest of the period to leave the Cyclones trailing, 65-59.

ISU showed signs of fight throughout the fourth quarter, chipping away at the Syracuse win to get within four points twice, including late in the period. After Crooks made a free throw to open the frame, Jalynn Bristow knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Syracuse lead to 67-63 with 8:41 remaining. Crooks broke up an Orange run with three baskets down low, keeping Iowa State within 73-69 with 3:07 to play. Syracuse held the Cyclones scoreless for the final three minutes of play and score the final eight points to take the 81-69 win.

TOP PERFORMANCE

Addy Brown recorded her first career double-double and the first double-double of the season for the Cyclones with season-highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds. She also passed out five assists.

UP NEXT

Iowa State travels to meet St. Thomas on Wednesday, November 29th. The Cyclones meet the Tommies for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off in St. Paul.

MADISON, Wis. — University of Iowa volleyball fell to Wisconsin, 3-0, Saturday night inside Wisconsin Field House.

Fifth year Caitlan Buettner led the way for the Hawkeyes with nine kills and 10 digs. Redshirt senior Delaney McSweeney followed closely behind, registering eight kills and hitting at .300. Setters Bailey Ortega and Kaia Mateo recorded 10 assists apiece on the night.

Set 1 (Wisconsin, 25-21): Wisconsin got on the board first, but McSweeney came through swinging to put down the first kill for the Hawkeyes. The teams exchanged offensive runs, meeting at four.  the Hawkeyes capitalized off Badger errors. Mateo set one up for Buettner to put down, and then Buettner stayed strong at the net to post a block in the next possession. She then recorded back-to-back kills to bring the set to a tie at 11. Freshman Gabby Deery also registered a kill for the Hawkeyes, thanks to an Ortega assist. Iowa and Wisconsin tied again at 15 after redshirt freshman Nataly Moravec put down a kill, assisted by freshman Rosa Vesty. The set stayed close, tying again consecutively at points 17-21, but Wisconsin closed the set.

Set 2 (Wisconsin, 25-10): The set opened evenly as the teams exchanged the first four points. Vesty and Moravec shut down a Badger attack attempt early in the set. A successful Moravec attack put the ball back into the Hawkeyes’ hands as Wisconsin led, 5-3. Buettner recorded a kill in attempt to close the gap. McSweeney also found an open spot on the court to give Iowa possession. The Hawkeyes battled to shorten the spread, but the Badgers pushed ahead. Towards the end of the set, redshirt junior Amanda Darling assisted McSweeney, but Iowa wasn’t able to catch Wisconsin as it claimed the set.

Set 3 (Wisconsin, 25-16): Once again, the teams went back-and-forth to begin the set. Wisconsin won the first point, but Iowa took advantage of an error and got possession back. Buettner and redshirt junior Anna Davis put down early kills for the Hawkeyes to a tie the Badgers at three. McSweeney broke up a Wisconsin run with a kill assisted by Ortega and came through again, posting a kill out of an Iowa timeout. Moravec added two kills of her own, and Buettner put a couple on the board to lessen the spread for the Hawkeyes. Iowa capitalized on a couple more Badger errors. Towards the end of the set, McSweeney registered back-to-back kills. Iowa continued to fight, but the Badgers captured the set and match.

The scene is set for the 2023 Dr Pepper Big 12 Football Championship game as Oklahoma State earned the #2 seed after its win over BYU and will square off against #1 seed Texas Saturday, December 2 at 11 a.m. CT in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium.

OSU finished league play at 7-2 and is 9-3 overall. The Cowboys are designated as the visiting team and will occupy the North bench. OSU is making its second title game appearance in three years.

ROSEMONT, Ill. – With a 30-24 victory over Ohio State on Saturday, the Michigan Wolverines have clinched a berth into the 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover for the third time in program history.

The Wolverines also clinched their fourth overall Big Ten East Division title, and their third in as many years. Michigan finishes the 2023 regular season 12-0 overall and 9-0 in conference play.

The 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game presented by Discover will be played at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, Dec. 2, at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Stadium. The contest will be televised nationally on FOX, with Compass Media Networks providing national radio coverage. The winner will earn the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy and a chance to play in one of the six bowls that comprise the College Football Playoff.

The Michigan ticket block and general public tickets for the 2023 Big Ten Football Championship Game have been sold out. Those interested in purchasing a suite should contact Indiana Sports Corp by clicking here.

Fans looking to elevate their experience with VIP Ticket Packages or Pregame Tailgate Packages should contact RevelXP by clicking here.Tickets are also available through TicketSmarter, the Official Resale Marketplace of the Big Ten Conference.

Every Big Ten Football Championship Game ticket will allow complimentary admission to the Big Ten Fan Fest presented by Dr Pepper, to be held at the Indiana Convention Center on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2.

For more information on the Big Ten Football Championship Game, visit bigten.org/FCG.