Iowa State heads into Big 12 play with a record of 11-2. The Cyclones raced away from an eight point halftime lead to beat New Hampshire 85-70. Keshon Gilbert had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.

ISU opens the Big 12 race at Oklahoma and Gilbert says the Cyclones are ready.

ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger on the start of Big 12 play.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (11-2, 0-0 Big 12) used strong starts to both halves and a triple-double by Keshon Gilbert to knock off New Hampshire (8-5, 0-0 American East), 85-70, Sunday afternoon in Hilton Coliseum.

The Cyclones opened the first half with a 16-3 run and the second period with a 23-8 flurry to put the Wildcats away in their final non-conference game of the season.

Gilbert was all over the court, scoring 10 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out a career-high 11 assists for the eighth triple-double, and second of the season, in Cyclone history. Tamin Lipsey posted a triple-double earlier this year against DePaul. The Cyclones are the only team in the nation this year and the 12th since 1996-97 to have two different players record a triple-double.

Eight of Gilbert’s 10 points were in the second half, including seven at the beginning of the second half to break open a close game. He also had four steals.

Six different Cyclones were in double-figure scoring, led by Tamin Lipsey’s 16. Milan Momcilovic added 15 points on a couple of 3-pointers, Tre King had 13, Hason Ward – seeing his first action since Nov. 12 – came off the bench to score 10 points and Curtis Jones also chipped in 10.

What’s Next

The Big 12 season slate begins next weekend, as the Cyclones travel to Oklahoma on Saturday (Jan. 6). Tipoff is at 5 p.m. CT on the Big 12 Network/ESPN+.

CORALVILLE, Iowa — Eight Hawkeyes brought home titles at the Soldier Salute on Saturday night at Xtream Arena. Iowa tallied for 251.50 team points to win the 2023 team title.

Iowa won finals matches at every weight class where it had qualifiers, and five Hawkeyes defeated ranked opponents in their title bouts. 

Drake Ayala started Session IV with a, 4-2, decision over seventh ranked Jore Volk (Wyoming) for his fourth career win over a top-10 opponent and second such win this season.

Ayala, who entered the weekend ranked 14th, also defeated No. 20 Patrick McKee (Minnesota), 5-4, in the semifinals.

“Since his first matches at the beginning of the year, there has been a lot of mat time,” said head coach Tom Brands. “Earlier in the year he hadn’t had a lot of mat time. You can see he is getting his belief in, ‘hey, I can get to anybody’s legs’ now. Then it’s about finishing in situations against guys that are roly-poly and flexible.” 

“I think we turned the tables on a guy that a couple years ago we were close to a lot. This time, we got the job done. Now, we have to be a little bit better next time. Have to keep getting better.”

At 141, Real Woods scored an 8-4 decision against #5 Lachlan McNeil (North Carolina). Woods improves to 26-9 all-time against ranked foes. 

Other ranked wins included Brody Teske over 32nd ranked Jacob Van Dee (Nebraska) and Jared Franek against 17th ranked Cael Swensen (SDSU). Franek earned the first takedown of the match in sudden victory to win, 4-1. 

Unattached freshman Gabe Arnold won the championship at his first Solider Salute in similar fashion, hoisting #24 Lenox Wolak (Columbia) airborne before returning him to the mat for a, 4-1, victory in extra time. 

At 165 pounds Michael Caliendo defeated teammate Patrick Kennedy in an all-Hawkeye final. 

Caleb Rathjen and Zach Glazier were champions at 149 and 197, respectively. Rathjen made his way through a gauntlet that included wins over teammate #8 Victor Voinovich in the semifinal and unattached Anthony Ferrari in the final. 

“Rathjen showed me that he is pretty determined to be the guy,” says Brands. “Not just because he went through the tournament and he is the champion, but because of some of the emphasis.” 

Iowa returns to competition at Nebraska on Jan. 12 at 6:30 p.m. in Lincoln. The dual will be televised on BTN.

Iowa looks to close the season with a victory when the 17th ranked Hawkeyes play 21st ranked Tennessee in Monday’s Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Iowa bids for the fourth 11-win season in program history.

That is Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes are 10-3 in a season they have lost several of their top players to injuries and suspension.

The Hawkeyes have their hands full against a talented Tennessee team. Iowa center Logan Jones.

Jones says an 11th win would be an outstanding accomplishment.

With Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton opting out of the game highly touted freshman Nico Iamaleava (ee-ah-MAH-LAY-ah-va) gets the start against an Iowa defense than ranks fourth in the country in scoring. Hawkeye defensive coordinator Phil Parker.

Parker does not expect the Volunteers to completely alter their offense.

Listen for the pre-game show on KJAN beginning at 10-a.m. Kickoff is Noon, Iowa time. It will be televised by ABC.

(Via ncaa.com) – The 2023-24 college football bowl season continues. Here are the scores from Saturday’s games (12/30/23) and schedule for upcoming games:

Saturday’s scores

Peach Bowl
No. 11 Ole Miss 38, No. 10 Penn State 25
Atlanta, Georgia

Music City Bowl
Maryland 31, Auburn 13
Nashville, Tennessee

Orange Bowl
No. 6 Georgia 63, No. 5 Florida State 3
Miami Gardens, Florida

Arizona Bowl
Wyoming 16, Toledo 15
Tucson, Arizona

Monday, Jan. 1, 2024

ReliaQuest Bowl
No. 13 LSU vs. Wisconsin
Tampa, Florida
12 p.m. | ESPN2

Citrus Bowl
No. 17 Iowa vs. No. 21 Tennessee
Orlando, Florida
1 p.m. | ABC

Fiesta Bowl
No. 8 Oregon vs. No. 23 Liberty
Glendale, Arizona
1 p.m. | ESPN

College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama
Pasadena, California
5 p.m. | ESPN

(Carbondale, IL [via godrakebulldogs.com]) – Drake hit the ground running in their first Missouri Valley Conference game of the season after they beat Southern Illinois 78-59. Saturday night’s win marked the 50th total win for Drake Head Coach Allison Pohlman.

Drake’s Katie Dinnebier played a complete game as she knocked down 26 points and also dished out seven assists and took away four steals. Grace Berg was just one point behind Deinnebier with 25 for her season high and also pulled down seven boards. Berg’s 25 points marked her 19th career game with at least 20 points or more. Anna Miller also came in clutch in both the rebounding and scoring game with 12 rebounds and 13 points for a double-double. Behind her was Taylor McAulay as she finished the team off in double-digit scoring with 10 points and a career-best five steals.

Southern Illinois was led in the game by Quierra Love with 12 points, four rebounds, and four steals. Both Laniah Randle and Se’Quoia Allmond knocked in 11 points each to round out double-digit marks in scoring. Drake was able to hold SIU to just 27.6% from the field while also holding them to 28.6% from the three-point line.

Drake now leads the Salukis 68-30 in the all-time series with three-straight victories over SIU. The Bulldogs will take on Indiana State on January 4th followed by a trip to Evansville on January 6th.