Iowa State’s depth chart took a hit at exactly the wrong time, and that could change the feel of the Cy-Hawk matchup in Iowa City on December 10.
Killyan Toure, who looked like one of the Cyclones’ most important returning pieces, is out after offseason shoulder surgery and won’t be back until January. That means he’ll miss the non-conference schedule and won’t be available when Iowa State meets Iowa on Dec. 10.
No Killyan Toure for Iowa State when the Cyclones come to Iowa City on Dec. 10. https://t.co/ZR8R7gX3dv
- Sean Bock (@SBock247) August 21, 2026
That absence matters because Toure was a major reason for optimism in Ames last season. In his first year under T.J.
Otzelberger, he stood out on defense with the kind of length and versatility that let him handle multiple spots. He also flashed enough on offense to hint at a bigger role if his jumper kept coming along.
With several other returning guards gone, Toure was lined up to be Iowa State’s top player on both ends.
Instead, the Cyclones will have to navigate the opening stretch without him, and that could ripple beyond one rivalry game. The injury news raises an immediate question about where Iowa State lands in the early rankings and how it holds up through a difficult non-conference slate.
For Iowa, the timing opens a door. The Hawkeyes came up just short of a 9-1 start in Ben McCollum’s first season after dropping a 66-62 road game to Iowa State, a contest they led by as many as 13 before the Cyclones rallied in the second half. Iowa has lost four of the last five in the series, and Iowa State has been ranked in all but one of those meetings.
This time, though, Iowa gets a version of the matchup it didn’t have last season: a real chance to lean on a revamped backcourt and try to flip the script at home. The Hawkeyes bring back Isaia Howard and Kael Combs, and they added Ty'Reek Coleman, Ethan Harris and Jaidyn Coon to that group.
Iowa also lost Bennett Stirtz to the NBA, but McCollum’s roster looks more balanced in year two, especially after bringing in seven-foot-three big Andrew McKeever from the transfer portal. That doesn’t make the Cyclones any easier to deal with, but Toure’s injury gives Iowa a little breathing room in a rivalry that has lately tilted the other way.
Otzelberger’s program has surged since he took over after Fred Hoiberg left for the NBA, and Iowa State has spent plenty of time near the top of the Big 12. Even so, with key departures and now this injury, there’s at least some uncertainty around how quickly the Cyclones can keep rolling.
For Iowa, that uncertainty is the opening it was hoping for.
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