AMES — The Iowa State men’s basketball team will face Northwestern in its second exhibition game of the season on Sunday, Oct. 26, at Hilton Coliseum. It will be the first in a home-and-home exhibition game, as the two teams will meet in Evanston, Ill., in October 2026.

The exhibition game will be the first in Hilton Coliseum for the men’s program since 2017, when the Cyclones beat Emporia State 77-68.

Iowa State will open the preseason slate the week prior with an exhibition game at Creighton on Friday, Oct. 17, at the CHI Health Center. A return exhibition game at Hilton Coliseum is scheduled for October 2026.

This will mark the first time the Cyclones have played two exhibition games in a season since 2009 when Iowa State beat Black Hills State (96-47) and UNC Pembroke (106-54).

While the Northwestern game will not count toward the regular season record, the two teams are 1-1 in the all-time series. Iowa State beat Northwestern 64-54 in Ames in 1949, while the Wildcats beat the Cyclones 67-65 in the championship game of the 2009 Chicago Invitational.

Iowa State holds a 17-15 advantage in the all-time series with Creighton. The last time the two teams met was in 2021, a 64-58 Cyclone victory in Omaha.

The Cyclones are coming off a 25-10 campaign in 2024-25 with a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays went 25-11 and also advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In ESPN’s Way Too Early Top 25, the Cyclones are ranked No. 13, while the Bluejays are among the first five teams outside the Top 25.

Northwestern went 17-16, ending the season in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament. In ESPN’s Way Too Early Top 25, the Cyclones are ranked No. 13.