Iowa State Cyclones Advance to Sweet 16

0:00On March 23rd, Iowa State Cyclones punched their ticket to the Sweet 16, with an 82-63 win over Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament, second round. Senior Gar Tam and Lipsi, a local kid from Ames, delivered his best game yet, with 26 points and 10 assists, while anchoring a strong defense. That dominated the second half. The second C2 cyclones improved to 29 wins and 7 losses, but they did it without all America forward. Joshua Jefferson sidelined by A, sprained, left ankle. Milan mom salovic chipped in 20 points, and Nate Heiss, starting in Jefferson's spot, added 12 to keep the offense rolling. Kentucky grabbed an early lead, but couldn't hold it. Trailing by 1 at halftime, before Iowa State unleashed a game-changing run, fueled by Wildcat. Turnovers. The Wildcats shot poorly from deep and struggled to score after the break, ending their season at 22 wins and 14 losses. Coaches on both sides, pointed to defensive pressure as the difference, with Iowa State converting mistakes into easy buckets.

1:04Jefferson heads for an MRI exam on Monday, leaving his status up in the air for the next round. Now the cyclones gear up for Midwest region semi-final against sixth seeded Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago, where they'll aim to build on this. Momentum, regardless of the injury news.