Indiana Basketball Coach Search: Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger

Indiana doesn’t play until Sunday, but a few games Saturday are potentially relevant to the Hoosiers’ future. 

One of them is No. 8 Iowa State’s trip to No. 5 Houston at 2 p.m. on ESPN. Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger has taken the Cyclones to new heights, and they need to beat the Cougars to stay in the Big 12 title race.

Otzelberger’s name has come up as a candidate for the Indiana job, which will open after the 2024-25 season when coach Mike Woodson steps down, the program announced Feb. 7. 

One name went off the board for Indiana’s next basketball coach Friday as Michigan signed coach Dusty May to a contract extension with a $7.5 million buyout. A large portion of the Hoosier fan base wanted May to return to his alma mater, but Indiana will have to look elsewhere now.

"I think it makes it obvious: I'm staying at Michigan," May told CBS Sports. 

So far, we’ve broken down potential candidates such as Scott Drew, Mick Cronin, Greg McDermott, Bruce Pearl, Chris Jans, Nate Oats and Grant McCasland, as well as May and Brad Stevens, who are no longer options. We’ll continue to discuss more options in a coaching search that could last another month.

Here’s a closer look at Otzelberger.

What makes Otzelberger an attractive choice for Indiana

One measure of a good coach is what he’s done relative to other coaches at the same school. In just four seasons, Otzelberger has separated himself from previous Iowa State coaches in a few key ways. For starters, his .690 win percentage is the best in program history.

He’s also the only coach in program history to lead Iowa State to two Sweet 16 appearances, and that took him just three seasons. Even more impressive, Otzelberger led the No. 11 seed Cyclones to the 2022 Sweet 16, just one year after former head coach Steven Prohm went 2-22 overall and 0-18 in Big 12 play. Otzelberger flipped the roster going into his first season and went 22-13, nearly doubling the program’s combined win total from the previous two seasons.

“His continued emphasis on the program’s daily habits has not only reshaped our program but has allowed the Cyclones to quickly pull off one of the greatest turnarounds in college basketball history,” Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard said. 

After losing in the first round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed, the Cyclones improved in Otzelberger’s third season, won the Big 12 tournament title and made the Sweet 16 as a No. 2 seed. That’s tied for the best NCAA Tournament seed in program history with Larry Eustachy’s 2000 and 2001 teams.

Crucial in the modern transfer portal era, Otzelberger retained all four double-digit scorers from his 2023-24 team. He also brought in two transfers from St. Mary’s and Charlotte to solidify the front court in the starting lineup. Both have transitioned well to a higher level of competition, a good representation of Otzelberger’s talent evaluation. He has also shown development as a coach, helping Curtis Jones improve from 11 points per game as a junior to the team’s leading scorer at 17.4 points per game this season.

Iowa State entered the season ranked No. 5 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, a program record. The Cyclones peaked at No. 2 in January, another program record, and have been ranked in the top 10 all season, including 11 weeks in the top five. Otzelberger’s team is strong on both ends of the floor, ranking 10th in defensive efficiency and 19th in offensive efficiency. They rank 103rd nationally in tempo. Last year, the Cyclones were No. 1 in defensive efficiency and 52nd in offensive efficiency. Otzelberger has had a top 10 defense all four seasons.

Iowa State is not a great 3-point shooting team, ranking 264th in attempts per game and 124th at 34.8%, but its 54.4% effective field goal percentage is strong at 53rd in the country. The Cyclones play an aggressive style of defense, ranking 17th in turnover percentage. Iowa State has a 6-4 record in Quad 1 games and 7-1 in Quad 2. 

Projected to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, Otzelberger will become the second Iowa State coach in history to make four straight tournament appearances, joining Fred Hoiberg from 2011-15. Hoiberg went 49-39 in conference play across five seasons, and Otzleberger is off to a 40-29 start in his first four.

Otzelberger is intense and enthusiastic, reflected by his team’s passionate play on the court. The Milwaukee, Wis., native is also just 47 years old, making a long-term stay in Bloomington possible.

He also had a successful run at South Dakota State from 2016-19, with two NCAA Tournament appearances and two conference titles in three seasons. He went 70-33 overall, including a 27-3 run in Summit League play over the final two seasons. 

Why Otzelberger wouldn’t come to Indiana

Even at a high-status job with plenty of resources like Indiana, it may not be as easy as it sounds to pluck a coach from a successful high-major school. Just look at Kentucky and Louisville last offseason, which whiffed on top targets before landing on BYU coach Mark Pope and Charleston coach Pat Kelsey, respectively. They weren’t necessarily flashy hires, but they’ve worked out well in their first seasons. 

Otzelberger would certainly be a home run hire for Indiana, but those are inherently more difficult to hit. Otzelberger has turned Iowa State into a national title contender in his fourth seasons, and it wouldn’t be easy to walk away from that. He also signed a contract extension in December through the 2032 season.

An emotional attachment to Iowa State could also keep Otzelberger in Ames. He was an assistant and an associate head coach for the Cyclones from 2006-13 and returned as an assistant in 2015-16. His wife was also a three-time All-Big 12 player for the Iowa State women’s basketball team. 

Prior to Iowa State, Otzelberger went just 17-15 and 12-15 in two seasons at UNLV. His track record with the Cyclones is likely convincing enough for Indiana to look past an underwhelming UNLV tenure, but it’s still something to consider. UNLV has struggled under four coaches for more than a decade, and it has not made the tournament since 2013.

Is Otzelberger a realistic candidate for Indiana?

Iowa State has reworked Otzelberger’s contract twice in the last two years. In April 2023, the school gave him a two-year extension and was set to pay him $3 million in 2024 and $3.5 million in 2025. For a comparison, Woodson was set to make approximately $4.2 million per year guaranteed.

When Iowa State extended Otzelberger again in December 2024, the terms of the new contract were to be announced at a later date. While that contract has not been made public yet, Otzelberger appears to be a feasible option for Indiana from a financial standpoint, despite the recent extensions.

“His buyout was really high a year ago. He renegotiated – $4 million right now. Nothing. It’s nothing,” national college basketball reporter Jeff Goodman said Friday on The Field of 68 podcast. “So the big question is, would T.J. Otzelberger want that job?”

So if Indiana really wanted Otzelberger, the price tag wouldn’t be in the way. It would appear to come down to whether Otzelberger wants to leave Ames. He has the Cyclones rolling in year four as a legitimate national title contender, and there’s the aforementioned emotional connection and history with Iowa State.

There are a few notable draws to Bloomington, though. Indiana is believed to have a top-five NIL situation nationally, according to an anonymous coaches poll conducted by CBS in August. It also has a large, passionate fan base, strong recruiting ground and national exposure. The Big Ten is also expected to be in better financial standing than the Big 12 when revenue-sharing opportunities begin next school year, due to its new television deal. 

With Stevens and May off the board, Otzelberger should be high on Indiana’s list. It may be difficult for him to leave an Iowa State program that he’s built into a national power, but several factors point to Indiana being the better job. Indiana can up his pay, and his buyout is not too restrictive.