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Jeff Borzello
Iowa State will be without its top two scorers for Saturday’s top-10 showdown against Houston, with the Cyclones announcing Friday that Curtis Jones and Keshon Gilbert are both unavailable this weekend.
Jones is out with an illness, while Gilbert has a muscle strain.
According to ESPN Research, Iowa State has played just 30 minutes this season with both players off the court.
Iowa State has won four in a row since starting forward Milan Momcilovic returned from injury, but the No. 8 Cyclones will be short-handed on the road against No. 4 Houston on Saturday (2 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Expect coach T.J. Otzelberger to turn to former Northern Iowa transfer Nate Heise in the backcourt.
Heise made two 3s and finished with 11 points in Iowa State’s win over Colorado on Tuesday. While he’s averaging only 3.8 points this season, he did put up 13.5 points at Northern Iowa in 2023-24.
The Cyclones’ perimeter depth will be decimated Saturday, to the point that preferred walk-on Cade Kelderman could need to play some minutes. Kelderman has played just seven minutes in Big 12 play, but he will be one of the few available ball handlers.
It’s a critical development in the Big 12 title race, as a win for Houston would move the Cougars to 15-1 in conference play, giving them at least a two-game lead on Arizona for first place coming out of the weekend.