Completed Event: Men's Basketball at #23 Creighton (Exhibition) on October 17, 2025 , Loss , 58, to, 71
Final
Men's Basketball
58
#23 Creighton (Exhibition)
71
.png&width=70&height=70&type=webp)
Iowa State University Athletics
Friday, October 17
Omaha, Neb.
7:30 PM
Iowa State
0-0,0-0Big 12
58
at
71
Creighton (Exhibition)
0-0,0-0Big East
1
2
F
Iowa St.
23
35
58
Creighton
46
25
71
Photo by: Jeff Spaur
No. 16 ISU Drops Exhibition Tilt to No. 23 Creighton
10.17.2025 | Men's Basketball
OMAHA, Neb. – In its first exhibition since 2017, No. 16 Iowa State fell at No. 23 Creighton Friday evening by a score of 71-58.
It was a tale of two halves for the Cyclones, as ISU went down by as many as 23 in the first half as the Bluejays at one point rattled off a 23-0 run. In the second half, the Cyclones buckled down on defense, outscoring the Jays by ten. The main difference on the night was Creighton's connection from deep as it had nine to ISU's zero.
Joshua Jefferson led the way for the Cyclones, recording a double-double by collecting 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was the lone Cyclones to finish in double figures in either category. Newcomer Dominick Nelson and Milan Momcilovic each finished with nine points, while Virginia transfer Blake Buchanan had eight points with seven boards.
Nik Graves led the Bluejays with 13 points, connecting on three of four triples. Blake Harper also finished in double figures for Creighton, earning ten points and pulling down a team-high six boards.
Each team had 22 field goals on the evening, with Creighton outshooting the Cyclones 40% to 36%. The Bluejays were also solid from the stripe, knocking down 18-22 freebies (82%) while ISU only connected on 58% of its free throws.
How it Happened
ISU punched first in the Friday exhibition, bullying its way to an early 8-4 lead with six of the points coming in the paint. From there though, the Bluejays turned it up a notch as they rattled off a 23-0 run over the next eight minutes of the contest to take a 27-8 advantage at the 9:49 mark.
The Cyclones tried to steady the ship, but the Creighton lead would continue to grow as it took a 23-point lead into the break. At the half, Nelson led all ISU scorers with eight points.
Creighton's momentum continued into the early portion of the second stanza, as the Bluejays opened up a 28 point lead by the under-16 mark. From there, though, the Cyclones began to whittle away at the Bluejay lead.
Three dunks and three free throws helped the Cyclones trim the Creighton lead to 21 by the under-12 timeout. The Cyclones were able to get things to 18 points by the under-eight and really ramped things up from there. Killyan Toure, Jefferson and Momcilovic helped push ISU forward as things got down to 12 with four minutes left.
The Cyclones continued to threaten, getting the deficit down to as low as eight before Creighton pulled back away to hold on for a 13-point victory.
Key Performers
Collectively, the Iowa State newcomers had solid debuts in the Cardinal and Gold. Buchanan's eight points and seven rebounds led the way for ISU. Killyan Toure had seven points and four rebounds, while Nelson finished with nine points and three steals.
Up Next
The Cyclones will be back in action next Sunday, Oct. 26, when they take on Northwestern in their second and final exhibition game. Next Sunday's contest is set to tip off at noon and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
IowaSt
CU
FG%
.361
.400
3FG%
.000
.300
FT%
.583
.818
RB
39
42
TO
7
11
STL
7
3
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
8
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball10_16_25 TJ Otzelberger Availability
Thursday, October 16
10_16_25 Blake Buchanan Availability
Thursday, October 16
10_16_25 Milan Momcilovic Availability
Thursday, October 16
TJ Otzelberger Media Day Press Conference 10-8
Wednesday, October 08
