Iowa State Crushes Tennessee, Jefferson's Status Unclear

0:00On March 21st, Iowa State crushed Tennessee State by 34 points, dropping 108 on them to punch their ticket to the round-of. 32. The cyclone shot lights out at 53% from the field, 46 from 3 and 78 from the line with four guys reaching, double figures and two topping 20. The big cloud over the wind came early when all American forward. Joshua Jefferson wrote his ankle just three minutes in during a layup attempt. He managed only two points in one rebound before heading to the training room where an x-ray came back negative. It's just a sprain. Coach TJ Ozzelberger called Jefferson day-to-day with his status for Sunday's matchup against Kentucky still unclear as he focuses on rehab over. The next 48 hours, without their star, the team showed no drop-off, rallying around him to dominate the rest of the way. He made stepped-up huge, like freshman Killian Ture, with a team-high 25 points, fueled by a sense of responsibility to win 1-4.

1:02Jefferson. They played physical, shared the ball well, and locked down on defense, proving their depth after staying mostly healthy all season. Now they face a Kentucky squad fresh off an overtime thriller against Santa Clara, sealed by Otega Oway's buzzer-beater. Iowa State's players respect the Wildcats talent from the tough SEC, but sound locked in. It's a battle regardless of Jefferson's availability.