Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Utah on February 24, 2026 , Win , 75, to, 59
Final
Men's Basketball
75
Utah
59
Iowa State University Athletics
Cyclones Open NCAA Tournament Thursday Against UAB
03.16.2015 | Men's Basketball
Follow Iowa State Men's Basketball on Facebook and Twitter (@CycloneMBB)
AMES, Iowa - No. 9 and third-seeded Iowa State (25-8, 12-6) opens the 2015 NCAA Tournament Thursday against UAB (19-15, 12-6 CUSA) in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cyclones and Blazers will tip at 11:40 a.m. (CDT) on truTV.
Where: Louisville, Ky. - KFC Yum! Center (22,000)
When: Thursday, March 19, 11:40 a.m. (CDT)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Learfield
Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Color)
TV: truTV (Mediacom: SD-43; SD-Digital-53.23; HD-869; DirecTV: 246; Dish Network: 242)
Talent: Verne Lundquist (PxP), Jim Spanarkel (Analyst), Allie LaForce (Reporter)
Webcast: NCAASports.com
Sirius/XM: TBA/TBA
Live Stats: Available at Cyclones.com
Live Blog: Not Available
@CycloneMBB Notebook
- Iowa State, which is a No. 3-seed in the tournament, won the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship, its second in as many years, with wins over Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, all of which advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones have won five in a row, with all the wins coming after trailing by double figures.
- The Cyclones have advanced to their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament, a school record. Iowa State and Kansas are the only Big 12 schools to make the tournament in each of the last four years. ISU's 25 wins ties for the third-most in school history. The Cyclones have notched 25+ wins in consecutive seasons for the second time in school history.
- The Cyclones are ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, their school-record 37th consecutive week in the top-25. ISU's 18 wins against top-25 teams in the last two seasons are the most nationally.
- Georges Niang was an All-Big 12 first team pick, with Monté Morris and Jameel McKay earning second and third-team honors, respectively. Dustin Hogue was an honorable mention selection. McKay was named the league's defensive player of the year and also earned a spot on the all-newcomer team and all-defensive team.
- Niang and Morris led the Cyclones at the Big 12 Tournament. Niang earned most outstanding player honors and Morris was on the all-tournament team.
Iowa State led the Big 12 with 79.3 points per game. ISU has five players scoring in double figures. The Cyclones' field goal percentage of 48.0 percent also leads the Big 12. The Cyclones have shot 50 percent or better from the field 15 times this season.
- The Cyclones have recovered from double-digit deficits in the last five games, outscoring opponents 50.2-34.6 in the second half. The “Comeback Kids” have shown the ability to get out of trouble in a hurry, blistering opponents with runs of 22-0 and 17-2 that both took place in under six minutes and erased their big leads.
- McKay has been a difference maker for the Cyclones, bringing energy on both ends of the floor. He's second on the team with 12.8 points to go along with 9.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in the last 12 games (11 starts). Before McKay (53 blocks) became eligible in December, ISU had 26 blocks as a team in nine games.
- Niang (15.5) leads ISU and is third among Big 12 players in scoring. He is also seventh in the Big 12 with 3.5 assists per game and his 5.4 rebounds are a career high. In the last eight games, Niang is averaging 18.5 points. At the Big 12 Tournament, Niang was dominant en route to earning most outstanding player honors. The junior averaged 18 points and 4.0 assists. He scored 22 in the quarters against Texas, 13 against Oklahoma and 19 in the finals against Kansas.
- Morris is Flint tough. The point guard from Flint, Michigan leads the Big 12 with 5.2 assists and a 4.9 assist-to-turnover ratio (1st nationally). He's dished out 172 assists and just 35 turnovers. Morris has played the last 136 minutes without a turnover, a streak dating back to the second half against Oklahoma on March 2. Since the start of last season, Morris has 106 steals. He is the only Big 12 player with more than 100 steals the last two seasons.
- The Cyclones averaged an astonishing 6.3 turnovers in three games at the Big 12 Championship. In the finals against Kansas, ISU turned the ball over just once in the second half. Morris was the ringleader, dishing out six dimes with no turnovers.
Back-To-Back Big 12 Champs!
- Iowa State played three thrillers to earn its second consecutive Big 12 Championship...ISU came back from double-figure deficits in all three games, including a 17-point deficit to Kansas in the championship game...ISU's total margin of victory in the three games was eight points, the smallest for a champion in Big 12 history.
- Niang was named the tournament's most outstanding player after averaging 18 points, five rebounds and four assists in ISU's three wins...Morris earned a spot on the all-tournament team as well after posting 15.3 points and 3.7 assists...Morris scored a career-high 24 points in the opening round win against Texas, hitting a 17-foot fadeaway buzzer-beater to beat the Longhorns.
Iowa State NCAA Tournament History
- Iowa State earned its 17th NCAA Tournament berth in school history with a No. 3 seed in the South Region...the Cyclones played in Louisville in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, defeating UCONN (77-64) before falling to eventual national champion Kentucky (87-71).
- Iowa State is 16-16 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. ISU is 4-3 in the NCAA Tournament under Hoiberg.
- Iowa State is a No. 3 seed for the second season in a row.
- Iowa State has made four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015) for the first time in school history...16 schools have made the tourney from 2012-15.
- The farthest the Cyclones have advanced in the NCAA Tournament is the Final Four in 1944.
- ISU, which was one of eight teams to qualify in 1944, won its first game vs. Pepperdine to advance to the semifinals.
- The farthest Iowa State has advanced in the NCAA Tournament since the current 64/65/68-team field, which began in 1985, is the Elite Eight in 2000.
Iowa State has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen three times (1986, 1997, 2014), Elite Eight once (2000) and the Final Four once (1944).
- The highest seed ISU has ever earned is a No. 2 seed (2000 and 2001).
- The Cyclones have won their first game in eight of their last nine NCAA Tournament appearances.
- In three of ISU's last six NCAA Tournament appearances, the Cyclones lost to the eventual national champion in their home state: Michigan State (2000, Auburn Hills, Mich.), North Carolina (2005, Charlotte, N.C.) and Kentucky (2012, Louisville, Ky.). In 2014, ISU lost to eventual national champion UCONN at Madison Square Garden.
- ISU has had two players lead the NCAA Tournament in scoring average (minimum three games played) during their respective careers...Dedric Willoughby averaged 24.7 ppg in 1997 (three games) and Marcus Fizer led all players in 2000 with a 20.0 ppg average in four games played.
- Individual NCAA Tournament records: Points- 34 by Dedric Willoughby (vs. UCLA in 1997), 34 by Lafester Rhodes (vs. Georgia Tech in 1988) 34 by Dustin Hogue (vs. UCONN in 2014); Rebounds- 20 by Jared Homan (vs. North Carolina in 2005); Assists- 11 by Jamaal Tinsley (vs. UCLA in 2000); Blocks- 8 by Kelvin Cato (vs. Illinois State in 1997); Field Goals- 15 by Dustin Hogue (vs. UCONN in 2014); 3-Pointers- 8 by Dedric Willoughby (vs. UCLA in 1997).
- The first time two teams from the same conference played in the NCAA Tournament in the same year was 1944 when ISU and Missouri from the Big Six were among the 8 teams chosen.
Iowa State Tournament Tidbits
- Iowa State went 14-5 against 10 teams that made the NCAA field: Georgia State (1-0); Maryland (0-1); Arkansas (1-0); Iowa (1-0); Oklahoma State (2-0); West Virginia (2-0); Baylor (0-2); Kansas (2-1); Oklahoma (2-1); Texas (3-0).
- Fred Hoiberg is one of six Iowa State coaches (Louis Menze, Johnny Orr, Tim Floyd, Larry Eustachy, Wayne Morgan) to lead the Cyclones into the NCAA Tournament.
- Hoiberg is one of four Cyclone head coaches to take multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament (Orr, Floyd, Eustachy).
- Hoiberg (Iowa State, 1995) was the 49th coach in NCAA history to play on an NCAA Tournament team (1992, 1993, 1995) and serve as a head coach on an NCAA Tournament team (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) at their alma mater.
- Hoiberg is possibly the only person in NCAA Tournament history to serve as a ball boy (1985, 1986), compete (1992, 1993, 1995) and serve as a head coach (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015) on an NCAA Tournament team at the same school.
- Hoiberg played on three NCAA Tournament teams (1992, 1993, 1995) in his All-American career at Iowa State.
- Hoiberg averaged 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds in five career NCAA Tournament games (2-3).
- Hoiberg recorded 17 points and eight rebounds in a win vs. Charlotte (76-74) in his freshman season (1992).
- ISU has six returning players who were on the 2014 Iowa State NCAA Tournament team.
- Long leads ISU having played in four NCAA Tournament games...Hogue has averaged 21.0 points in his three NCAA Tournament games...Hogue has made 70.6 percent of his shots in the NCAA Tournament...Morris has hit 6-of-7 threes in the NCAA Tournament.
- Niang's season was cut short when he broke a bone in his foot in the second round last season against North Carolina Central...he scored 25 points in that game, including five after breaking the bone and before being diagnosed...Daniel Edozie started the next two games in his place.
- Iowa State assistant coach Cornell Mann has been an assistant coach in Division I on four teams, coaching in the NCAA Tournament in all four: Iowa State (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), Dayton (2009), Western Michigan (2004), Central Michigan (2003).
ISU-UAB Series History
- Iowa State and UAB will be meeting for the third time in series history...the series is tied 1-1...the teams have not met since 1980...in 1978, UAB won 79-65 in Birmingham...in 1980, ISU won 71-70 at Hilton Coliseum.
- Iowa State is 14-3 all-time against opponents from Conference USA.
- ISU head coach Fred Hoiberg (1992-95) and UAB head coach Jerod Haase (1994-97) played against each other in college when Haase was playing at Kansas...KU went 3-2 in the five meetings, but Hoiberg had one of his best games against Haase and the Jayhawks when he scored 32 points, including 17-straight Cyclone points in the second half as ISU beat No. 3 KU, 69-65, on Jan. 14, 1995...Hoiberg was 6-of-12 from 3-point range in the game.
- Monté Morris and UAB's Denzell Watts both hail from Flint, Michigan...the two played for Team Detroit AAU program for two years (15-U & 16-U) before Morris switched programs.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballISU Post-Game vs. Tennessee
Saturday, March 28
Tennessee Previews ISU (NCAA Sweet 16)
Thursday, March 26
ISU Previews Tennessee (NCAA Sweet 16)
Thursday, March 26
TJ Otzelberger 3_25_26 interview
Wednesday, March 25
