Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger reacts during the second half of a game against Marquette at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa State Cyclones' Early Matchup Against St. John's Red Storm Will Be Meaningful

Originally posted on Iowa State Cyclones on SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 6:00 PM ET

With the college basketball season quickly approaching for the Iowa State Cyclones, they are going to be tested throughout the regular season against some of the best teams in the country. While the Cyclones will be seeking to accomplish a lot this year, they will certainly be battle tested come March.

Iowa State is coming off a strong campaign in 2024-25, in which they were regarded as one of the best teams in the Big 12 for most of the season and had some signature wins on their resume. Unfortunately, they were eliminated a bit earlier than they would have liked in March Madness, but it was still a good year overall.

Coming into the 2025-26 season, the team is going to be ranked in the Top 25 to start the year and they will be tested right out of the gate with a strong out of conference schedule. The Big 12 will present plenty of tough games for the Cyclones, but they will be battle tested well before that.

Which Game Early on Will Be Key?

Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

While there are a number of great out of conference games to choose from for Iowa State, arguably the biggest is going to be their matchup against Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm on November 24th.

This will be the first game for Iowa State in the Players Era Classic in Las Vegas, and it is a star-studded field. In addition to playing the Red Storm, they will also be facing the Creighton Bluejays and then a third team depending on how they play.

The matchup against St. John’s will be their fifth game of the season, and it very well could be a preview of a potential matchup in March Madness. Pitino has done an excellent job turning around a once prestigious program very quickly and this is the most talented roster that he has assembled for the program in his short time there.

The Red Storm were a number two seed in the tournament last year and they very well could be a number one seed when it is all said and done this campaign. St. John’s features a lot of veteran impact transfers, and they are built to win a title.

While the Cyclones will be playing some of the best teams in the country within their conference, this early-season matchup with the Red Storm will be a great measuring-stick game to see just how good Iowa State can be.