The first game of the 2026-27 men's basketball season for the Iowa State Cyclones did not go well .
Playing at the Sanford Pentagon against the Memphis Tigers, the team didn't resemble a normal T.J. Otzelberger-led squad. Their attention to detail on defense wasn't at the level fans have become accustomed to seeing, failing to get stops with any consistency.
In the backcourt, Iowa State was outplayed despite having an edge, on paper, with Tamin Lipsey, Jaquan Johnson and Jamarion Batemon. While there were some disappointing developments in the opener, there were some positives.
One of those positives was power forward Tre Singleton, who transferred into the program from the Northwestern Wildcats. Tasked with replacing star Joshua Jefferson, who was a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, he had a wonderful debut, showcasing his two-way skill set.
Memphis was without their best frontcourt player, Nemanja Popovic, and Singleton took full advantage. He overwhelmed the Tigers on the interior offensively, grabbing six offensive rebounds. That created multiple extra opportunities, which he turned into excellent efficiency, shooting 5-of-7 from the field to score 11 points.
He looked comfortable with the ball in his hands as well. A staple of Otzelberger's offense is his frontcourt players being able to pass and be playmakers , and he certainly looks capable of growing into that kind of role. He had a nice big-to-big pass to Dominykas Pleta in the second half for an easy dunk when he drew a double team.
Singleton made his presence felt on the interior all evening, pulling down a total of 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double in his first appearance with the Cyclones. Like his predecessor, he stuffed the stat sheet on both ends, recording three STOCKS with two steals and one block.
There was certainly a lot to like about his debut, but Singleton does have some areas of his game to continue working on. Offensively, he had three turnovers, which was the most on the team.
He also took himself out of the game at points by committing four personal fouls. That made life a whole lot easier for the Tigers, who didn't have an answer for him on either end of the court in his 28 minutes of action.
Only a sophomore, and learning a new system under Otzelberger, there is still plenty of development for him to do as he gets comfortable in a new setting. The glimpses of game-breaking potential were plentiful in the debut, as Singleton possesses the tools to develop into the next Iowa State star.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/iowa-state as Iowa State Basketball Transfer Makes Two-Way Impact in Debut .
