Today, the Iowa State women play Kansas State for the 77th time. The Wildcats “leap” over Nebraska to become the Cyclones’ most-played opponent. In addition, this is the first time ISU has ever played on Leap Day.
Also today, the Iowa State men play Missouri for the 233rd time. The third game in ISU basketball history, period, was played in Columbia, on Jan. 9, 1909. They lost 53-14. In the early years of basketball, Iowa State played many doubleheaders against Missouri and Nebraska, up to four games a season.
Contrary to the Kansas-Missouri buzz, just like football before it, Iowa State’s loss of not just one but TWO century-plus series mean squat to the rest of the athletics world. As noted above, Iowa State has played Missouri and Nebraska in basketball for the entire existence of the program. If this had been happening to an East Coast school, we would have been reminded each game. (Bitter? Me?)
Here’s the update to table I ran in November, adjusted for the 2011-12 season. Presumed meetings with Kansas State for both men and women in the postseason are not included in this writing but may be reflected in the table later.
| Football (1892-2020) | Men's BB (1907-2015) | Women's BB (1973-2015) |
|---|---|---|
| 105 Nebraska | 252 Kansas | 97 Kansas State |
| 104 Missouri | 235 Missouri | 92 Kansas |
| 104 Kansas State | 234 Nebraska | 76 Nebraska |
| 100 Kansas | 233 Kansas State | 74 Missouri |
| 85 Oklahoma | 211 Oklahoma | 70 Oklahoma |
Barring a meeting in the Big 12 Tournament, Missouri will end one game behind Nebraska on the all-time opponent list. Kansas will reach the top as the most-played opponent in two years barring Conferencepocalypse III.
Today would have been Gleneva Hansen’s “25th” birthday.
UPDATE: The men lost after leading at halftime and a good portion of the game. Iowa State is now 2-4 on Leap Day and 1-2 when playing Missouri on Leap Day.