No. 18 Iowa State opened the 2026-27 season with a loss in Sioux Falls, falling 80-76 to Memphis on Monday night after Northwestern transfer Jayden Reid scored 17 of his game-high 26 points in the second half.
The Cyclones trailed by seven with just over five minutes left, clawed back to tie it at 69, and then watched Reid take the game over in the final three minutes at the Sanford Pentagon, according to Yahoo Sports coverage of the opener.
How the game slipped away from Iowa State
Memphis looked in control when Rihards Vavers hit a 3-pointer to put the Tigers up 69-62 with a little more than five minutes remaining. Iowa State answered with a 7-0 run to knot the score at 69 and had every chance to finish the job.
Reid had other plans. The transfer guard scored 11 points over the final three minutes, including a 3-pointer with 38 seconds to play that gave Memphis a 78-73 lead it would not give back. ESPN's box score from the season opener shows the final margin never shrunk below four in the closing seconds.
Iowa State fought hard to stay in it. Dominykas Pleta scored 13 of his 15 points in the final 10 minutes, keeping the Cyclones within reach while their offense struggled to find clean looks late.
Ryan Prather Jr. led Iowa State with 19 points. Tamin Lipsey and Leon Bond III also factored into the first-half scoring, with Bond scoring six points in under a minute during one stretch.
A tight first half that promised more
The opening 20 minutes were a back-and-forth affair with 11 lead changes and seven ties. Neither team led by more than five points in the half.
Memphis built an early 19-14 lead before Bond's 3-pointer put Iowa State back in front, 25-23, with just over eight minutes left in the half. The Cyclones pushed their edge to 37-32 on a Lipsey basket with three minutes to go.
Memphis closed the half on an 8-2 run, capped by Luke Almodovar's drive and dunk at the buzzer that sent the Tigers into the break with a 40-39 lead. Almodovar finished with 15 points before fouling out with just over three minutes to play, which opened the door for Reid's late scoring surge.
What the loss means for the Cyclones
One November loss to a quality opponent is hardly a season-defining moment, and the Cyclones showed plenty to build on. The late 7-0 run showed grit, Pleta's second-half burst gave the offense a spark, and Prather's 19 points suggest Iowa State has a reliable go-to scorer.
But the finish will sting. Iowa State had the game tied with three minutes to play against an unranked opponent and could not get a stop or a basket when it mattered most. Closing games is often the difference between a ranked team that makes a deep tournament run and one that limps into March, and that lesson arrived early for this group.
The Associated Press, in its report on Monday's game, noted that the matchup was the season opener for both programs, meaning there is plenty of time for coach T.J. Otzelberger's squad to correct course.
What's next for Iowa State
The schedule softens immediately. Iowa State returns home to host Southern Mississippi on Friday, a game the Cyclones will be heavily favored to win and one they likely need to win comfortably to steady themselves before the schedule toughens again.
Memphis, meanwhile, hosts VCU on Saturday as the Tigers look to build on a statement win over a ranked opponent.
For Iowa State fans, the takeaway from Sioux Falls is simple: the pieces are there, but the Cyclones need to learn how to finish. Friday's home opener against Southern Mississippi is the first chance to prove they can.