Iowa

NASCAR Cup at Iowa: What to watch for in Sunday night's race on USA Network

Published

2 years ago

June 16, 2024

NASCAR Cup at Iowa: What to watch for in Sunday night's race on USA Network

NEWTON, Iowa — Tonight’s inaugural Cup race at Iowa Speedway comes with a variety of questions for drivers and teams.

A sold-out crowd will be on hand to witness the event, which will air on USA Network (pre-race coverage begins at 6:30 p.m. ET)

Here is a look at three things to watch in tonight’s race:

How will the tires perform?

Five Cup teams had tire issues in Friday’s 50-minute practice. All had issues around 20 laps on a set of tires. Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs each had a right front tire go down in practice. Ross Chastain had a left rear go down in practice.

“What is even more concerning and makes it way more confusing is the fact that we had three cars out here at a tire test that did 50-lap runs and none of us blew a tire,” Bell said after Friday’s practice. “So, I don’t know. But yes, It is very, very alarming and there are red flags all over the place that we had so many tire issues today.”

Martin Truex Jr. said he is excited about his future but doesn’t know what that will entail.

Bell did the tire confirmation test May 28 with Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski.

There was a feeling by some in the garage that some of the tire issues Friday could have been related to lower air pressures.

A key will be how teams react and how the track changes as the race progresses into the night and cooler temperatures.

Who will be the inaugural winner?

Kyle Larson will start on the pole, but he says he thinks many drivers enter this race believing they can win.

“I think there’s still so much unknown, so I think that’s exciting for race fans and all that … even drivers,” Larson said. “There’s probably more drivers in the field that feel like they have an opportunity to have a good run because if this (track surface) was old, worn out, bumpy – your Hendrick Motorsports teams, your Joe Gibbs Racing teams, they’re going to be the ones dominating.

“Where now, I feel like – especially with qualifying shaking-up the order and all that, I think the starting lineup is a little bit odd. So yeah, I think more teams probably feel like they have an opportunity.

AUTO: APR 20 NASCAR Cup Series GEICO 500

Joey Logano enters this weekend at Iowa outside the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with 10 races left in the regular season.

One driver to watch could be Joey Logano, who starts 11th and has won three of the last eight races at newer events for the series.

Logano won the 2021 Bristol Dirt race, the 2022 Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the inaugural Cup race at World Wide Technology Raceway in 2022.

Logano’s most recent win came in last month’s All-Star Race on a repaved North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Playoff bubble

Bubba Wallace enters the race holding the final playoff spot.

Two former champions are close behind. Kyle Busch is eight points behind Wallace. Logano is 16 points behind Wallace. Chase Briscoe is 27 points behind Wallace.

Wallace starts 16th. Busch starts seventh. Logano starts 11th. Briscoe starts sixth.

Nine races will remain in the regular season after Sunday night’s race.

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Iowa

Iowa women’s basketball injury report for today’s Michigan game

Published

6 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Iowa women’s basketball injury report for today’s Michigan game

Hawk Central staff report
| Des Moines Register

Iowa women’s basketball has three players listed as out on the availability report for Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament semifinal vs. Michigan.

Hannah Stuelke is not listed on the league-mandated injury report, a good sign for Hawkeye fans. Stuelke has battled shoulder and elbow injuries in the last few weeks, as well as a virus on Friday.

The senior All-Big Ten player played Friday despite being under the weather, scoring 13 points and grabbing five rebounds in a quarterfinal victory over Illinois.

Kennise Johnson, Emely Rodriguez and Jada Gyamfi are not available for 2-seed Iowa. Taylor McCabe is also listed as out for the season following an ACL injury last month.

Michigan, the 3-seed, does not have any players listed on the injury report.

Here’s a look at the availability report ahead of Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. CT contest.

Iowa players listed as out

#13 Kennise Johnston
#21 Emely Rodriguez
#23 Jada Gyamfi

Iowa players listed as questionable

Iowa players listed as out for the season

Michigan players listed as out

Michigan players listed as questionable

Michigan players listed as out for season

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Iowa

Where to watch Iowa State basketball today vs Arizona State, time, TV

Published

18 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Where to watch Iowa State basketball today vs Arizona State, time, TV

Iowa State basketball concludes Big 12 Conference regular-season men’s play at home against Arizona State on Saturday, March 7.

The Cyclones (24-6, 11-6 Big 12) are coming off a 73-57 loss to Arizona. The Sun Devils (16-14, 7-10) most recently upset Kansas, 70-60.

Here’s what you need to know about when and how to watch Iowa State vs. Arizona State:

Watch Iowa State vs. Arizona State on FUBO (free trial)

Iowa State basketball vs. Arizona State TV channel, live stream

TV: FS1
Stream: FUBO (free trial)
Can’t watch? We will have live updates at DesMoinesRegister.com.

Iowa State vs. Arizona State time today

Date: Saturday, March 7
Start time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Hilton Coliseum in Ames

Iowa State basketball vs. Arizona State prediction

Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register: The quest for perfection at home is no longer possible, but expect Iowa State to be able to give Tamin Lipsey and the other seniors the perfect sendoff in the final game at Hilton Coliseum. Although the Sun Devils recently enjoyed a big win, they’ve struggled on the road this year, with a 2-8 record. One last dose of Hilton Magic as Iowa State gets back on the winning side after a two-game losing skid. Iowa State 80, Arizona State 64.

Iowa State basketball schedule 2025-26

Record: 24-6, 11-6 Big 12

March 7: at Arizona State, 1 p.m. CT, FS1
March 10-14: Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City

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Iowa

Iowa State basketball vs. Arizona State prediction, 3 things to watch

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Iowa State basketball vs. Arizona State prediction, 3 things to watch

It’s the last dance at Hilton Coliseum for Cyclone lifer Tamin Lipsey and other Iowa State basketball seniors.

The Cyclones will wrap up the regular season with one final home game on March 7 against visiting Arizona State. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on FS1.

Iowa State (24-6, 11-6 Big 12 Conference) is looking to shake off a two-game losing skid after suffering back-to-back losses to Texas Tech and Arizona.

Meanwhile, Arizona State (16-14, 7-10) is coming to Ames fresh off of consecutive wins over Utah and Kansas. The Sun Devils upset the Jayhawks 70-60 on March 3.

Here are three things to watch for in Saturday’s game:

Arizona State enters Hilton Coliseum with momentum

The Sun Devils are coming off of back-to-back wins, including an upset of Kansas in their last outing at home on March 3.

The Sun Devils built a 40-20 halftime lead and hung on for the win.

Arizona State also had a 72-67 win over Texas Tech on Feb. 17. It was the game in which J.T. Toppin went down with a season-ending ACL injury in the final six minutes of the contest.

Pepperdine transfer Moe Odum is shining in his first season at the power-conference level. He had 23 points in both games against Kansas and Texas Tech. In the recent win over Kansas, he had a game-high 23 points and shot 5-of-10 from long range, with four boards, six assists and two steals.

The senior guard is averaging 17.3 points, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game for the Sun Devils.

The frontcourt is anchored by 7-foot-1 center Massamba Diop. Diop is one of the top shot-blockers and rim-protectors in the conference, averaging 2.2 blocks per game, second to Kansas’ Flory Bidunga. The freshman center has had three or more blocks in nine Big 12 games this season.

Senior guard Anthony Johnson has developed into a reliable sixth man for the Sun Devils. It’s his first season of Division I basketball after playing the last few years at NAIA-level University of the Cumberlands. Johnson is a two-way contributor off the bench. He is averaging 13.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Primarily a slashing threat, Johnson has shown he can knock down 3s when left open.

Iowa State basketball guard Tamin Lipsey on increased urgency

Iowa State basketball guard Tamin Lipsey on team-wide increased urgency.

Arizona State’s towering size

The Sun Devils have plenty of length and size throughout their roster.

According to KenPom, Arizona State has the ninth-tallest roster in Division I basketball in terms of average height across the team.

The Sun Devils’ starting five features three players who are 6-foot-11 or taller.

Aside from the 7-foot-1 Diop, they have a pair of 6-foot-11 forwards in the lineup, sophomore Santiago Trouet and junior Andrija Grbovic.

Although the Sun Devils’ big men might not be as talented as Arizona’s, it will be interesting to see if Arizona State tries to emulate or utilize a similar gameplan defensively as Arizona. The Sun Devils are a good shot-blocking team and they’ll look to use their size up front to make life in the paint difficult for Iowa State.

Despite Arizona State’s size, the Sun Devils are not an exceptional rebounding team, so this can be an opportunity for Iowa State bigs to set the tone on the boards.

Iowa State basketball coach TJ Otzelberger on emotions of senior night

Iowa State basketball coach TJ Otzelberger on the emotions of senior night from a coach’s perspective.

Iowa State will salute its seniors

The Cyclones are set to honor five seniors on Saturday afternoon: Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Nate Heise, Eric Mulder and Dominick Nelson.

Lipsey, a hometown hero and Ames product, will be playing in his final game at Hilton Coliseum. A senior who has been at Iowa State since the first day of his collegiate career, Lipsey is a rarity in this era of the revamped transfer portal and NIL. He is one of only five seniors in the Big 12 to stay all four, or five (if they redshirted), years at the same school.

Jefferson also will get recognition. In just two years at Iowa State, he quickly blossomed into one of the Cyclones’ top players and fan-favorites after transferring in from Saint Mary’s.

Nate Heise, a sixth-year senior, was already honored in last season’s senior-night ceremonies, but he will be recognized once again on Saturday. Heise chose to return this season for another year due to a season of eligibility stemming from a medical redshirt from a hand injury in the 2022-23 season at Northern Iowa.

Nelson and Mulder, both graduate transfers, will cap senior-day ceremonies.

Iowa State basketball vs. Arizona State prediction

The quest for perfection at home is no longer possible, but expect Iowa State to be able to give Tamin Lipsey and the other seniors the perfect sendoff in the final game at Hilton Coliseum. Although the Sun Devils recently enjoyed a big win, they’ve struggled on the road this year, with a 2-8 record. One last dose of Hilton Magic as Iowa State gets back on the winning side after a two-game losing skid. Prediction: Iowa State 80, Arizona State 64

Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.

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