No. 2 Iowa State loses second straight, 79-70 to Cincinnati

Iowa State guard Nate Heise (0) drives to the basket past Cincinnati forward Tyler McKinley (24) during the first half of an NCAA basketball game, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2026, in Cincicnnati (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster).

JEFF WALLNER | Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — Day Day Thomas scored 19 points to lead Cincinnati to a 79-70 win Saturday over No. 2 Iowa State, which has lost two straight after winning its first 16 games.

Milan Momcilovic scored a career-high 34 points, hitting eight 3-pointers, for the Cyclones (16-2, 3-2 Big 12) who were looking to rebound after an 84-63 loss to Kansas on Tuesday.

But a desperate Cincinnati team made things difficult, forcing 12 turnovers leading to 20 points. Iowa State trailed by as many as 26 points against Kansas and 17 on Saturday.

Jizzle James scored 15 points and Sencire Harris and Jalen Celestine each scored 12 for Cincinnati (10-8, 2-3) which has won two straight games after starting 0-3 in the league.

Three straight 3-pointers by Celestine gave the Bearcats an early 16-8 lead. Day Day Thomas’ 3-pointer made the score 19-8.

The Bearcats made six 3-pointers in the first half. Moustapha Thiam’s 3-pointer gave them a 35-24 lead.

Iowa State, which leads the nation in three-point percentage, made just one of its first seven three-point attempts. They finished 9 of 21, with eight of those makes by Momcilovic.

Momcilovic’s first made 3-pointer with 1:38 remaining in the first half helped the Cyclones rally from an 11-point deficit to trail 35-31 at halftime.

Joshua Jefferson’s layup tied the score at 38 early in the second half. But Cincinnati answered with an 11-0 run. Jefferson scored 16 points.

Thomas hit a 3-pointer and a mid-range jumper to give the Bearcats a 54-42 lead. His third 3-pointer of the night made the score 67-50.

Iowa State responded with a 14-2 run. Momcilovic scored nine of those points to cut the Cyclones’ deficit to 69-64 with 4:38 left. But Cincinnati held on.

Cincinnati was 0-6 in Quad 1 opportunities coming into the game and coach Wes Miller was booed loudly during pregame introductions.

Iowa State Notes

Tamin Lipsey moved into 20^th in school history with his 118^th career game played.
- Lipsey is now 23^rd in school annals for scoring, passing both Naz Mitrou-Long and Gary Thompson (1,255).
Dominick Nelson played in his 50^th career game.
Milan Momcilovic is now tied for the 19^th-most 3-pointers in a single season by a Cyclone with 71.
- He also moved into fifth all-time in the school rankings, passing both Dedric Willoughby and Georges Niang (195).
- He moved to 33^rd in school scoring with 1,051.
Joshua Jefferson pulled down his 400^th board as a Cyclone.