Joshua Jefferson’s second triple-double leads No. 9 Iowa State over UCF 87-57

Central Florida forward Jordan Banks, center, passes between Iowa State guard Killyan Toure (27) and Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Joshua Jefferson had 17 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 12 assists for his second triple-double of the season as No. 9 Iowa State defeated UCF 87-57 on Tuesday night.

Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points as the Cyclones (17-2, 4-2 Big 12), coming off their first losses of the season, bounced back in their return home, building a 44-26 halftime lead and pulling away in the second half.

Jefferson is the first player in school history with multiple triple-doubles in a season and is the second Division I player this season with more than one. Jefferson’s other triple-double was in an 80-59 win over West Virginia on Jan. 2.

Killyan Toure and Jamarion Batemon each had 12 points and Blake Buchanan added 11 for the Cyclones.

Iowa State forced 19 turnover from the Knights (14-4, 3-3).

Riley Kugel and Jordan Burks each scored 15 points for UCF.

The Cyclones were coming off their first losses of the season — an 84-63 loss at Kansas last Tuesday and a 79-70 defeat at Cincinnati on Saturday. They were plagued by slow starts in those two losses, trailing by double-digits in the first half, and came into the game having fallen behind in the first half of their last five games.

But Iowa State had a strong start to this game, getting off to a 25-12 lead in the first nine minutes. The Cyclones led 31-19 before UCF answered with a 7-0 run. Then Iowa State held the Knights scoreless for the last 5:45 of the half. UCF missed six shots and committed four turnovers during that stretch.

UCF was without guard Jamichael Stillwell, who was listed as a game-time decision on the Big 12’s availability report. Stillwell, who averages 12.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, has five double-doubles this season.

Iowa State Notes

T.J. Otzelberger earned his 71st win at Hilton Coliseum, tied with Larry Eustachy for third in school history.
ISU’s 90th win in the last four years is tied for the fifth-best four-year stretch in program history.
Joshua Jefferson started his 80th career game.
- He eclipsed 275 career assists.
- He is now over 200 assists as a Cyclone.
Milan Momcilovic now owns the 16^th-most single-season triples in ISU history (75).
- He has made the fourth-most 3-pointers in school history (199), as he passed Scott Christopherson on the evening.
Tamin Lipsey is now 22^nd in ISU scoring annals (1,260).
- He surpassed 275 career steals.