LAS VEGAS — Johnny Orr, Louis Menze, Glendon Anderson, Fred Hoiberg, Larry Eustachy and now T.J. Otzelberger.
Otzelberger joined an exclusive club of Iowa State men’s basketball coaches Nov. 24 when he became the latest to attain his 100th victory as the Cyclones’ head coach. No. 100 came after his team’s gritty 83-82 win over St. John’s in the Players Era Festival.
“It’s a credit to the guys that we’ve been fortunate to coach and their commitment to what we do every single day,” Otzelberger said. “Proud of our guys for that and we’ll get focused to do everything we can to get ready for our game tomorrow (against Creighton) and keep our focus on that.”
Of the 23 head coaches in Iowa State men’s basketball history, dating to 1908, only five others have reached the 100-win mark at the helm of the Cyclones.
The 48-year-old Otzelberger is 199-108 in 10 seasons as a Division I head coach, which includes three years at South Dakota and two seasons at UNLV. He is in his fifth campaign at Iowa State.
As the Cyclones’ head coach, he is 100-45. His .688 winning percentage is the best in program history.
Orr is the Cyclones’ winningest coach, with 218 wins from 1981-94. Menze (1929-47) is next with 166 victories, followed by Anderson’s 140 wins (1960-71).
Otzelberger has an opportunity to pass Hoiberg’s 115 wins (2011-15) and Eustachy’s 101 victories (1999-2003) this season.
After Iowa State’s opening-round win over Lipscomb in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, he became the record-holder for most NCAA Tournament wins by a Cyclone head coach, with five. He also has the most victories against AP top 25-ranked opponents (26) and AP top 10-ranked teams (12) in school history.
The Cyclones improved to 5-0 overall with their win over the Red Storm on the first day of the Players Era Festival.
The milestone win came in memorable fashion. Iowa State led by 10 points early in the first half before St. John’s rumbled back to take a 45-43 halftime lead.
It was a back-and-forth affair throughout. Iowa State mostly stayed in front coming down the stretch of the second half, but St. John’s was able to momentarily grab an 80-79 lead following back-to-back 3-pointers by Oziyah Sellers with 2:09 remaining.
Tamin Lipsey got hurt on Sellers’ second 3-pointer and was designated as day-to-day after the game. Milan Momcilovic settled things down and regained the lead with a layup once play resumed. The Cyclones held firm from there.
Iowa State outrebounded the Red Storm, 38-36, and finished with 22 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.
Momcilovic paced the Cyclones with 23 points, while shooting 8-of-13 overall. Joshua Jefferson had 17 points and eight boards. Lipsey added 16 points, five assists and a steal.
The Cyclones will face Creighton on Tuesday, Nov. 25, as the Players Era Festival continues. Otzelberger will face mentor and former Iowa State coach Greg McDermott, who had Otzelberger as an assistant coach on his Cyclones staff from 2007-10.
“He gave me my first opportunity that I know that I hadn’t earned or didn’t deserve at Iowa State in 2006 and had he not done that, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here today,” Otzelberger said of Tuesday’s matchup. “It’s with a tremendous sense of thankfulness and gratitude and appreciation I have for coach Mac and all he’s done for me. It’s one of those games you don’t really look forward to playing friends to that extent, because I like to see them be successful — except for tomorrow.”
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball’s T.J. Otzelberger earns 100th win with Cyclones
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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