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 (1908–1980) From 1907 to 1928, the Cyclones played in the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, managing a few winning records in-conference but no championships. In 1929, the Cyclones moved to the Big Six Conference and named Louis Menze as head coach. Over the next 19 years, Menze would lead the Cyclones to four conference championships (their only seasons with a winning conference record in this period). Two of these teams earned consideration for the then eight-team NCAA tournament; the 1941 squad lost in a pre-Tournament "qualifying game" to Creighton. Three years later, the 1944 team beat Pepperdine to reach the semifinals in the tournament proper before losing its next game against eventual champion Utah, good for a spot in history as a Final Four participant.
After Menze's last conference win in 1945 and subsequent resignation as coach in 1947 (he would remain Iowa State's athletic director until 1958, having taken the position in 1945), the Cyclones floated between the bottom and the middle of the conference for decades, their main claim to fame being two wins of the conference's annual "Holiday tournament", played between Christmas and New Year's Day in Kansas City, in 1955 and 1959. Neither these tournament wins, nor their regular season performances, qualified the Cyclones for postseason play in the 33 years between Menze's and Johnny Orr's stints in the head coaching position. However, the 1957 Cyclones were ranked #3 in the nation after handing Wilt Chamberlain's #1 Kansas its first loss.
Gary Thompson outscored Chamberlain, while Don Medsker held Chamberlain to 17 points the 2nd lowest of his career and then hit the game winner at the buzzer. From the introduction of the Big Eight's postseason tournament in 1977 until Johnny Orr's fifth season in 1985, the Cyclones did not advance past their first game.
In 1971, Maury John left Drake University to move to Iowa State. John led Drake to the 1969 NCAA Final Four and the Elite Eight in 1970 NCAA tournament and 1971 NCAA tournament. John inherited an Iowa State team that was 5–21 the previous season. John was excited about the new Hilton Coliseum and led Iowa State to a 12–14 record in 1971–72 and a 16–10 record in 1972–73, a 15-year best. On Dec. 2, 1971, in the first game played at Hilton Coliseum, John led the Cyclones to a victory over Arizona 71–54. Said Cyclone announcer Eric Heft, a player for Coach John: "The place was sold out for the Arizona game and we doubled the capacity of season tickets from the season before. We didn't have all the fanfare you have today, but it was packed. It was my first game and Maury John's first game as the head Cyclone coach as well."
In the 1973–74 season, Iowa State was off to a 4–1 start. But, John sat out the remainder of the 1973–74 season after a cancer diagnosis. Assistant Gus Guydon (11–10) finished the season. In October 1973, John had seen a doctor after having health concerns. Two months later, on the day his Iowa State team lost at Drake, John was told he had an inoperable malignant tumor at the base of his esophagus. "It was a bolt out of the blue for someone who lived his life free of smoking or drinking," His son John said later. "There was high stress. But he was always healthy."
John was optimistic about returning to Iowa State in 1974–75, but his health worsened and he resigned on July 30, 1974. John said "It's going to be hard for me not to be on that bench. I won't have to sweat out all those games down on the floor. But truthfully, I'd rather be down there sweating them out." John died on October 15, 1974, at the age of 55. During a 28‐year coaching career, John had a 528–214 record. John's departure sent the Cyclones into free fall. In the next six years, Iowa State would only have one winning season, bottoming out in 1975–76 with a 3–24 record, still the worst in school history.
Johnny Orr era (1980–1994)
Johnny Orr came to Iowa State from Michigan in 1980. Iowa State's athletics director had called Orr to inquire about Michigan assistant Bill Frieder. When Orr learned of the salary Iowa State would offer Frieder, he negotiated the Iowa State head coaching job for himself. Orr is credited with building "Hilton Magic" and laying the foundation for Iowa State's success in men's basketball. A number of Cyclone greats played for Orr, including Jeff Grayer, Barry Stevens, walk-on Jeff Hornacek, Lafester Rhodes, Justus Thigpen, Victor Alexander, Fred Hoiberg, Julius Michalik, and Loren Meyer, many of whom would go on to success in the NBA.
Orr's first team (1980–81), led by junior forward Robert Estes (14.9 points per game, 6.7 rebounds per game) produced a lackluster 9–18 record. Freshman forward Ron Harris, whom Orr considered his first prominent Cyclone recruit, contributed per-game averages of 13.7 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Led by sophomore Ron Harris and freshman recruit Barry Stevens of Flint, Michigan, Orr's 1981–82 team finished the season with a 10–17 overall record and a 5–9 record in Big Eight play. Harris gave the Cyclones 13.3 points per game, while Stevens contributed 13.0 points per game. Senior Robert Estes added 10.3 points per game.
The Cyclones improved to a 13–15 overall record in the 1982–83 season, but again finished 5–9 in conference play. Many of the Cyclone faithful regard sophomore Barry Stevens' buzzer-beating shot against 10th-ranked Missouri during the 1982–83 season as the foundational example of "Hilton Magic." Stevens tallied per-game averages of 16.8 points and 5.2 rebounds for the season. Ron Harris contributed 14.3 points per game.
Orr's 1983–84 team recorded the first winning season of his tenure at Iowa State—and the first winning season for Cyclone basketball since Lynn Nance's 1977–78 team finished 14–13—with a 16–13 overall mark and a 6–8 record in conference play. The Cyclones played in the 1984 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), losing to Marquette in the first round. Junior forward Barry Stevens averaged 22.2 points per game on the season. Seniors Terrence Allen and Ron Harris each averaged 11.0 points per game.
Led by senior Barry Stevens and freshman forward Jeff Grayer, natives of Flint, Michigan known at Iowa State as "The Flintstones", the 1984–85 Cyclones finished tied for third in conference play (7–7) and finished 21–13 overall. Iowa State advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time under Orr and for just the second time in the history of the program. The Cyclones, the #13 seed in the Midwest Region, lost to #4 seed Ohio State by a score of 75–64. ISU managed to upset 10th-ranked Kansas twice during the regular season. Stevens averaged 21.7 points per game. Junior guard Jeff Hornacek recorded 12.5 points per game, and Grayer averaged 12.2 points and 6.5 rebounds on the season.
Despite the departure of two-time first-team All-Big Eight forward Stevens, the 1985–86 campaign saw First-team All-Big Eight players Grayer and Hornacek lead the Cyclones to their most successful season yet under Orr. Iowa State finished with a 22–11 overall mark and a 9–5 record and second-place finish in conference play. The Cyclones advanced to the NCAA tournament in consecutive years for the first time in school history. With wins over #10 seed Miami (Ohio) and #2 seed Michigan, the #7 seed Cyclones reached the "Sweet Sixteen" before falling to #6 seed North Carolina State, 70–66. Grayer led the Cyclones with per-game averages of 20.7 points and 6.3 rebounds. Hornacek averaged 13.7 points per game. The Cyclones upset 5th-ranked Oklahoma and 4th-ranked Kansas during the regular season.
The 1986–87 Cyclones finished with a 13–15 overall record and a 5–9 record in Big Eight play, missing postseason tournament competition for the first time in four seasons. Grayer (now a junior) averaged 22 points and 7 rebounds per game, while senior Tom Schafer averaged 18 points and 6 rebounds. Despite their struggles, the 1986–87 Cyclones managed wins over two ranked teams (15th-ranked Kansas and 12th-ranked Oklahoma).
Orr's 1987–88 Cyclones rebounded from the losing season of the prior year to finish 20–12 overall and 6–8 in conference play, including wins over #2 Purdue, #7 Iowa, #16 Kansas, and #15 Missouri. Iowa State returned to the NCAA tournament, losing 90–78 to #5 seed Georgia Tech in the first round. The Cyclones were led by senior and three-time first-team All-Big Eight forward Jeff Grayer and senior Lafester Rhodes, who averaged 25 and 22 points per game, respectively.
The 1988–89 Cyclones finished the season 17–12 overall and 7–7 in conference play, including a victory over third-ranked Missouri in Hilton Coliseum. The Cyclones advanced to their fourth NCAA tournament under Orr, losing 84–74 to #7 seed UCLA in the first round. Sophomore Victor Alexander averaged 20 points and 9 rebounds per game on the season. Sophomore Mark Baugh averaged 13.3 points per game, while Sam Mack contributed per-game averages of 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds.
Following the loss of key players to attrition and legal problems in the offseason, the 1989–90 Cyclones finished 10–18 overall and 4–10 in conference play, marking the Cyclones' second-worst season under Orr. Only Orr's 1980–81 team, his first at ISU, had finished with a worse overall record. Junior Victor Alexander averaged 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Senior guard Terry Woods averaged 16 points per game.
The 1990–91 season saw the Cyclones finish with an overall record of 12–19 and a conference record of 6–8. Despite their poor overall performance, the Cyclones managed wins over two ranked teams (#12 Oklahoma State and #21 Oklahoma). Senior Victor Alexander averaged 23.4 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game, while senior Doug Collins averaged 14.3 points per game.
Iowa State's fortunes improved during the 1991–92 season, with the Cyclones finishing 21–13 overall (5–9 in conference play) and earning the #10 seed in the East Region of the NCAA tournament. The Cyclones defeated #7 seed UNC Charlotte in the opening round before losing 106–98 to #2 seed Kentucky in the round of 32. Iowa State recorded wins over #16 Iowa, #21 Oklahoma, #2 Oklahoma State, #3 Kansas, and #13 Missouri during the regular season. Junior Justus Thigpen led the team with 16.3 points per game, while junior Ron Bayless averaged 12.6 points per game. Freshmen Julius Michalik and Fred Hoiberg averaged 13.6 and 12.1 points per game, respectively.
Iowa State finished the 1992–93 season with a 20–11 overall record and a second-place 8–6 record in conference play. The Cyclones advanced to their sixth and final NCAA tournament under head coach Johnny Orr, losing in the first round to #9 seed UCLA, 81–70. Iowa State managed victories over #12 Oklahoma and #7 Kansas during the regular season. Seniors Justus Thigpen and Ron Bayless led the team with 17.6 points and 13.3 points per game, respectively. Sophomore Julius Michalik and Ames native and sophomore Fred Hoiberg contributed 12.0 and 11.6 points per game, respectively.
In the 1993–94 campaign—Orr's final season as Iowa State men's basketball head coach—the Cyclones posted a 14–13 overall mark and a 4–10 record in conference play. ISU was led by a trio of juniors—Loren Meyer, Fred Hoiberg, and Julius Michalik, each of whom averaged over 20 points per game on the season.
Orr retired from coaching in 1994. He remains the winningest coach in Iowa State history (in terms of total wins), with a win–loss record of 218–200 as the head coach of the Cyclones.
Tim Floyd era (1994–1998)