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Final Up to date: March 20, 2024, 00:01 IST
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Iowa State will make the quick journey to Nebraska for the primary and second rounds of the NCAA Match in loads higher mind set than the Cyclones group that traveled to North Carolina a yr in the past.
Iowa State will make the quick journey to Nebraska for the primary and second rounds of the NCAA Match in loads higher mind set than the Cyclones group that traveled to North Carolina a yr in the past.
This group blew out Houston within the Massive 12 Match championship recreation over the weekend and earned a No. 2 NCAA seed, matching the very best in program historical past. On Monday the Cyclones landed No. 4 within the AP Prime 25, their greatest late-season rating ever.
All techniques are go, not like final yr after they went in as a No. 6 seed and off losses in 9 of their earlier 13 video games. They didn’t make a discipline aim the primary 10 minutes in opposition to Pittsburgh, shot 23% for the sport and misplaced 59-41.
“It was positively a studying lesson for us,” stated Tre King, considered one of three returning starters from that group.
Don’t count on the 2024 Cyclones (27-7) to put an egg once more after they play Fifteenth-seeded Summit League champion South Dakota State (22-12) in an East Area opener Thursday evening in Omaha.
“Our guys know what’s at stake,” third-year coach T.J. Otzelberger stated. “They know whenever you get to this time of the yr and also you’re lucky sufficient to be enjoying significant basketball, how fortunate all of us are, and we’re going to benefit from the chance.”
It’s what the Cyclones have been doing all season. They’ve received two of three in opposition to Massive 12 bully Houston and misplaced back-to-back video games simply as soon as after being picked seventh within the 14-team league within the preseason coaches’ ballot.
They developed right into a classic Otzelberger squad, constructed on a workmanlike offense and a smothering protection that, in accordance with KenPom, is the nation’s most effective.
4 gamers common between 10.5 and 13.8 factors, and eight completely different gamers have led the group in scoring. The Cyclones are middle-of-the-pack within the Massive 12 in scoring in addition to total and 3-point discipline aim taking pictures share; they’re close to the underside in free-throw taking pictures and rebounding.
Tamin Lipsey and UNLV switch Keshon Gilbert lead a protection that forces 17.5 turnovers per recreation, averages 10.4 steals and is permitting opponents to shoot simply 40%. ISU’s defensive common of 61.3 factors per recreation is fourth within the nation.
The emphasis on protection offsets the offensive shortcomings. Some 27% of the Cyclones’ factors are generated off turnovers.
In what shapes as much as be a wide-open event, Baylor coach Scott Drew stated, Iowa State “simply might win a nationwide championship” if solely due to its elite protection. Drew’s Bears dedicated 13 turnovers and shot 39% in a 76-62 Massive 12 semifinal loss to the Cyclones.
Otzelberger can’t assist however like the best way his group is enjoying popping out of final weekend.
“You have a look at our group this yr and the best way we’ve been enjoying recently, it’s been a gaggle that’s been very balanced throughout the board,” he stated. “A power of our group is that lots of guys can step up on a given evening, and our guys take super satisfaction in making the proper play.”
The matchup in opposition to South Dakota State wouldn’t be Otzelberger’s first selection. He coached the Jackrabbits from 2016-19, going 70-33 with two NCAA appearances. Lots of the help employees members he employed are nonetheless there.
The SDSU campus is a couple of four-hour drive from Omaha, and Jackrabbits followers wish to observe their group. Similar goes for Iowa State followers, who took over the T-Cell Heart in Kansas Metropolis final weekend. Omaha is 2 1/2 hours from Ames.
“It’s thrilling, simply understanding how shut it’s to Ames and understanding how our followers journey,” King stated. “We all know it’s going to be a enjoyable surroundings and enjoyable recreation. We’re chomping on the bit to prepare and get going.”
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AP March Insanity bracket: and protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed – Related Press)
