Iowa State men’s basketball: Cyclones could play four Big Monday games
By Brian Spaen
The tradition of the Big 12’s best matchups on Big Monday during the men’s basketball season continues, and Iowa State could be featured in four of them.
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ESPN released the Big Monday schedule on Monday. Here are the following games that will feature the Cyclones at the normal time of 8:00 PM Central on the four-letter’s primary network:
- January 26th: Texas at Iowa State
- February 2: Iowa State at Kansas
- February 9: Iowa State at Oklahoma
- March 2: Oklahoma at Iowa State*
*Game could be switched out with Baylor at Texas. If so, game would then be on ESPNU.
That is three straight weeks of Cyclones basketball on Big Monday and a possible fourth towards the end of the season. A date with the Jayhawks generally guarantees Iowa State a spot on Big Monday every year, and having four is just showing how much the team is getting nationally recognized.
The breakdown of potential teams is as follows: Kansas, Oklahoma, and Iowa State four times, Texas three times, and Kansas State, Baylor, and West Virginia all once.
Formerly a doubleheader of the Big 12 and Big East’s best games on Monday night, ESPN transitioned it to the ACC and Big 12 last year when the traditional Big East conference dissolved.
Here’s the full slate of games courtesy of ESPN’s press release.
| Date | Time (ET) | Game | Network |
| January 5 | 7 p.m. | Notre Dame at No. 6 North Carolina | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 9 p.m. | No. 19 Oklahoma at No. 17 Texas | ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| January 19 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | No. 19 Oklahoma at No. 10 Kansas | ESPN | |
| January 26 | 7 p.m. | No. 21 Syracuse at No. 6 North Carolina | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | No. 17 Texas at No. 16 Iowa State | ESPN | |
| February 2 | 7 p.m. | No. 7 Virginia at No. 6 North Carolina | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | No. 16 Iowa State at No. 10 Kansas | ESPN | |
| February 9 | 7 p.m. | No. 2 Duke at Florida State | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | No. 16 Iowa State at No. 19 Oklahoma | ESPN | |
| February 16 | 7 p.m. | Pittsburgh at No. 7 Virginia | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | No. 10 Kansas at West Virginia | ESPN | |
| February 23 | 7 p.m. | No. 8 Louisville at Georgia Tech | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | No. 10 Kansas at No. 23 Kansas State | ESPN | |
| March 2 | 7 p.m. | No. 7 Virginia at No. 21 Syracuse | ESPN |
| 9 p.m. | Baylor at No. 17 Texas -or- No. 19 Oklahoma at No. 16 Iowa State (ESPN or ESPNU) |