All five of T.J. Otzelberger’s Iowa State teams have reached the NCAA Tournament and this one could be his best so far.
No. 2 in the Midwest Region, the Cyclones are a top-three seed for a third straight year. After a Big 12 semifinals loss to Arizona at the buzzer, Otzelberger said he believes the Cyclones are a Final Four contender, same as the Wildcats, who are seeded No. 1 in the West and second overall behind Duke.
Lopsided wins against Arizona State and Texas Tech and that narrow loss to Arizona showed the Cyclones have put their clunky finish to the regular season behind them. His comment about the Final Four was as much for his players as anyone.
“The level we played at in Kansas City and how we competed, continuing to do that one day at a time creates a lot of possibilities down the road if you’re able to keep your focus where it needs to be,” he said Sunday. “I wanted them to come away with that, a tremendous sense of confidence.”
Iowa State (27-7) opens the tournament Friday against Ohio Valley Conference champion Tennessee State (23-9) in St. Louis. BetMGM Sportsbook lists the Cyclones as 25.5-point favorites, no surprise for a 2 vs. 15 matchup.
The disparity in talent is one thing. Then there’s Iowa State’s experience advantage. Tamin Lipsey will be playing in his fourth NCAA Tournament, Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson in their third and Nate Heise in his second. Tennessee State is in March Madness for the first time since 1994.
Momcilovic said he and his teammates understand their time together is winding down.
“We don’t want to take it for granted,” he said, “and obviously we want to win as many games as possible.”
The Cyclones got out to a program-record 16-0 start, lost back-to-back road games and then won seven of eight to sit 23-3 in mid-February. They dropped three of their next four as the offense struggled but rediscovered their rhythm in a 21-point win over Arizona State to close the regular season, and then they beat the Sun Devils by 49 and Texas Tech by 22 in the conference tournament.
“Get out and run, play with pace, and our offense is going to run pretty well,” Jefferson said. “So we showed we can go back to the drawing board and fix what we need to fix.”
Jefferson, an AP All-Big 12 first-team pick, is the Cyclones’ do-it-all man with 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Momcilovic is shooting 49.6% on 3-pointers to lead the nation. The defense allows just 65.1 points and forces 15.3 turnovers per game.
“The physicality of the Big 12 and the battle-tested nature of our team prepares you when you play against other teams and other conferences,” Otzelberger said. “I think that’s one of the great things about being in the Big 12, knowing it will either break you or you’ll be better for it.”
The Cyclones are in much better shape physically than they were entering last year’s tournament. Otzelberger said Lipsey, who aggravated a groin injury in the Big 12 Tournament, will be available Friday.
Last year, the Cyclones were knocked out in the second round when they fell behind Mississippi by double digits early and lost 91-78. The year before they got off to a similar start against Illinois in the Sweet 16 and lost 72-69.
“It sticks with me a lot just because the last two tournaments, how they ended was not the way I wanted,” Momcilovic said. “That’s why we work hard in the summer and fall, for moments like this. I think that adds more fuel to the fire and hopefully we’ll come out and play well this tournament.”
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