The Iowa State Cyclones are about to begin one of the most crucial seasons in recent program history.

Coming into the year, Iowa State has lost out on two of their Big 3 from last year, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson. However, they brought back some big names and also added tons from the transfer portal, which could lead to immense success this season.

The Cyclones begin their year against the Memphis Tigers, an intriguing mid-major team that always seems to cause havoc. And they have looked good in preseason this year. Memphis beat the Mississippi State Bulldogs, dominating the entire game. Then, they played it somewhat close with the Arkansas Razorbacks, falling by just 12.

Let’s take a look at three key players for Iowa State against the Tigers in their opener.

Dominykas Pleta

This is a huge game for Dominykas Pleta for one key reason. Nemanja Popovic, Memphis’s projected best player, isn’t eligible to play for the first six games of the season, which leaves a big hole in the big man position for the Tigers.

Outside of Popovic, Memphis struggled in the paint in their exhibition games, and that created tons of opportunity for Pleta to shine. Whether it’s scoring, passing, or creating for others on a pick-and-roll, it seems like Pleta should be able to have a big game given the circumstances.

Tamin Lipsey

This isn’t necessarily a big game for Tamin Lipsey when it comes to anything schematic, just simply a big one for his leadership and his veteran experience. In the first two exhibition games, there was a clear difference between the two.

The first one without Lipsey looked uncoordinated, with poor execution. In the second game, everything was the complete opposite. Lipsey clearly provides immense help to the team both on and off the court, and that’s going to be key early in the season, especially in the first game of the season.

Ryan Prather Jr.

Ryan Prather Jr. has a huge game in front of him. Since transferring from the Robert Morris Colonials last offseason, he’s had two exhibition games that have ended in extremely different fashions. The first one was a game where he put up zero points and went 0-for-5 from the 3-point range. But in the second one, everything changed.

Prather Jr. went for 25 points, hitting 6-of-7 3-pointers. It was quite the difference in games, and it showcases a lot about what we may see out of him this year. Prather Jr. can go off on any given night, and coming off of his fantastic performance should give him confidence that could lead to a big first game of the season in a Cyclone uniform.