Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Creighton (Exhibition) on October 17, 2025 at 7:30 PM
7:30 PM
Men's Basketball
Creighton (Exhibition)
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Iowa State University Athletics
Thursday, March 17
Denver, Colo.
1:00 PM
Iowa State University
22-11
94
vs
81
Iona
22-11
1
2
F
Iona
33
48
81
Iowa State
45
49
94
Cyclones Advance To NCAA Second Round; Top Gaels, 94-81
03.17.2016 | Men's Basketball
DENVER, Colo. –No. 4-seed Iowa State (22-11, 10-8 Big 12) earned a 94-81 victory over No. 13-seeded Iona (22-10, 16-4 MAAC) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones shot a blistering 50 percent from the floor as they advanced to the round of 32 for the fourth time in the last five seasons. With the win, Iowa State improved to 17-17 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
The 22nd-ranked Cyclones used hot-shooting from beyond the arc to propel them past Iona as the Cyclones knocked down 10 3-pointers at a 45.5 percent clip. ISU's 10 triples marked the 13th time this season the Cyclones netted 10 or more 3-pointers.
Two-time All-American Georges Niang led Iowa State with a game-high 28 points and six rebounds. His 28 points puts him at 660 on the season, which ranks 10th in school history.
The Cyclones placed five in double-digits as Niang (28), Monte Morris (20), Abdel Nader (19), Matt Thomas (14) and Jameel McKay (11) finished with double-figures.
How it Happened
After Iona drained its first two shots to go up 5-0 just 1:03 into the game, Iowa State went on a 3-point barrage beginning with Thomas netting a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc, extending his streak to 23-straight games with a triple. Next up from three were Nader and Niang who gave ISU a 9-5 lead, which it would not relinquish. Iowa State's run would hit its peak as Morris lobbed one to Nader who finished it off with a two-handed slam for the Cyclones first two-pointer of the game. Nader's dunk gave ISU an 11-5 lead and forced an early Iona timeout.
The Cyclones would grab as much as a 15-point lead in the first and held a double-digit lead for most of the period. Iowa State shot 48.3 percent in the first to Iona's 39.4 percent, inclucing a blistering 7-of-14 from long range for the Cyclones to close the first half with a 45-33 lead. Morris, Thomas and Niang each had 10 points to lead ISU.
The Gaels began the second half strong, and cut the 12-point Iowa State lead to eight, 52-44, after a 3-point play by Jordan Washington with 17:18 to play. The Gaels and Cyclones would get in a second-half shootout as both teams traded buckets, but the Cyclones broke things open by the under-12 timeout with a 70-56 lead.
Iowa State would maintain a double-figure lead for much of the second half, but the Gaels refused to be put away as guard A.J. English made it a nine-point game with a big 3-pointer, 79-70, with 4:51 to play. Iona never came closer than seven points away from Cyclones in the second half, as Iowa State went on to win its 17th NCAA Tournament game in school history with a 94-81 win over the Gaels.
Cyclones of Note: Georges Niang and Monte Morris. The first-team All-Big 12 performer led Iowa State, shooting 11-of-23 from the floor, hauling in six rebounds and dishing three assists. Niang now ranks third in school history in both points (90) and field goals made (36) in the NCAA Tournament.
With 20 points on the afternoon, Morris netted his eighth 20-point performance of the season and 10th of his career. His eight assists also marked the 25th time this season he dished five or more.
Cyclone Quick Hits
*Iowa State evened the all-time series, 1-1, against Iona
*Iowa State is 19-2 when holding its opponents under 80 points.
*Iowa State's 94 points are the second-most in school history in an NCAA Tournament game (98 vs. Kentucky in 1992).
*The Cyclones have shot better than their opponent in 26 of 33 games and are 19-7 when shooting better than their opponent.
*Iowa State is now 9-5 while playing in the Midwest Region in NCAA tournament play.
*Morris now has 229 assists on the season, the second-most in a season in ISU history.
*Matt Thomas hit a 3-pointer for the 23rd-straight game, the third-longest streak in Iowa State program history.
*Thomas is now up the 83 3-pointers on the season, which is tied for the seventh-highest single-season total in ISU history.
*Thomas posted 14 points, his 19th game of the season in double figures and 36th of his career.
*Georges Niang passed Melvin Ejim with the most games played in Iowa State history at 136 games. Niang also passed Fred Hoiberg and tied Jeff Grayer for the second-most starts by a Cyclone in program history with his 124th career start.
*Morris is tied for fifth all-time in school history with 17 assists in the NCAA Tournament.
Up Next
Iowa State takes on the winner of the Purdue-Little Rock game on Saturday. The time and television station have yet to be announced.
Team Stats
ION
ISU
FG%
.484
.500
3FG%
.292
.455
FT%
.667
.800
RB
37
35
TO
13
10
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
28
FGM
11
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
19
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
F
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