Round of 32 Primer: No. 25 Washington State

Who: No. 4 Iowa State (28-7, 13-5 Big 12) vs. No. 25 Washington State (25-9, 14-6 Pac-12)

Where: CHI Health Center (17,560) – Omaha, Neb.

When: Saturday, March 23, 2024 – 5:10 p.m.

Tipping Off: Fresh off an 82-65 victory over No. 15 seed South Dakota State, No. 2 seed Iowa State turns its attention to No. 7 seed Washington State in Saturday's second round. In the first ever meeting with the Cougars, Iowa State is looking to make its seventh Sweet 16 in school history.

The No. 2 seeded Iowa State Cyclones led from the opening possession Thursday, as ISU beat No. 15 seed South Dakota State 82-65 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Five Cyclones scored in double figures, led by 19 points from Milan Momcilovic in his first NCAA Tournament game. It was the first time Iowa State has had five players score in double figures in an NCAA Tournament game since doing so against Nevada in 2017.

With Thursday night's win, ISU is tied for the second-most wins in a single season in program history with 28.

A top 25 battle in the East Region's Round of 32, the Cyclones will face a Washington State program that slogged out a win over the Drake Bulldogs on Thursday night, 66-61. Wazzu overcame an eight-point Bulldog second half lead, taking control at the 1:51 mark and holding on for the win in its first March Madness appearance since 2008.

Washington State is the third set of Cougars the Cyclones have played on the season (Houston and BYU), and will be the first Pac-12 team Iowa State has played since 2021 when ISU downed Oregon State at Hilton Coliseum, 60-50.

Storylines:

With a victory on Saturday, No. 2 seed Iowa State would advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history and the second in three years under T.J. Otzelberger. The game would be played on Thursday at a time to be determined in Boston. No coach in school history has gone to the Sweet Sixteen more than once.
In dominating fashion, No. 7 Iowa State blasted No. 1 Houston 69-41 last Saturday night to win the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. It was the fifth time in the last 10 tournaments Iowa State has won the title, while picking up its sixth overall.
- Iowa State held the Cougars to just 26.8 percent shooting from the field (15-56) to hand the Cougars their worst loss of the Kelvin Sampson era, as well as the largest margin of victory ever in a Big 12 Championship game.
- The win also marked Iowa State's fourth-ever win against a No. 1 team.
ISU is 6-6 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
- Overall, the Cyclones are 22-22 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Otzelberger is the eighth coach at ISU to lead the team to the NCAA Tournament and just the second to do so in each of his first three seasons (joining Tim Floyd).
Keshon Gilbert has been Iowa State's best player in the back half of the season, as he's become the team's leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points per game.
- Gilbert recorded a triple-double against New Hampshire earlier this season, going for 10 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
  - His triple-double – the eighth in school history – puts him with Lipsey, Haliburton, Monté Morris, Royce White, Jamaal Tinsley, Curtis Stinson and Marc Urquhart as members of the illustrious club.
- Gilbert is first in the Big 12 in free throws attempted (193) and second in FT made (140).
  - He is second on the team in assists (150) and steals (69).
- Gilbert has two Big 12 Newcomer of the Week awards to his name this season.
- He's recorded a team-best eight 20-plus point outings.
AP Honorable Mention All-American Tamin Lipsey is the heartbeat of the team, as the Ames native averages 12.4 points per game to go along with team-highs in assists (168) and steals (93).
- Lipsey leads all Big 12 players in steals and steals per game.
  - He is fourth, nationally, in those categories.
- Lipsey set the school record for steals against PVAMU, picking the Panthers' pockets eight times.
  - The previous record, seven, was held by Fred Hoiberg and Justus Thigpen.
  - He has recorded a steal in all but two games in his career.
- Against DePaul, Lipsey recorded the seventh triple-double in school history, going for 15 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds.
  - Lipsey became the first Cyclone since Tyrese Haliburton in 2020 to record a triple-double.
Cyclone freshman Milan Momcilovic has been a smooth scorer off the wing for ISU, averaging 11.2 points per contest.
- He is one of five Cyclones to score at least 20 in a game this season.
- Momcilovic is averaging the most points per game by an ISU true freshman since Lindell Wigginton's 16.7 in 2017-18.
  - He is the second highest-scoring true freshman in the Big 12, behind Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter.
Sixth man Curtis Jones has been stellar off the bench for the Cyclones, starting the year as a defensive stopper and eventually coming into his own on offense where he now averages 10.5 points per game.
- Jones is the only ISU player since 2012 to record double-figure scoring outputs in 13-straight games off the bench which he did earlier this season.
  - He's been in double figures off the bench in 21-of-35 games for the Cyclones this season.
- He had seven steals at TCU earlier this season in his lone start, tying him for the second-most steals in a single game in Iowa State history.
  - It's the first time ever that two Cyclones recorded games with seven-plus steals in a single season.
Robert Jones leads the team in offensive rebounds (80) and blocks (34).
Tre King leads the team in rebounds, as the senior out of Lexington, Ky., averages 5.3 per game and has a total of 185 boards.
Hason Ward, C. Jones, Jackson Paveletzke, Demarion Watson and Omaha Biliew make up the bench unit for the Cyclones.
Iowa State forces the second-most turnovers per game (17.46) in the country – tops in the Big 12.
- The Cyclones average 10.5 steals per game, also tops in the Big 12 and second in the country.
As a head coach, Otz is 168-97 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 69-34 record over the last three seasons.

From the Notes:

A trio of Cyclones earned honors from the Big 12. Lipsey was an All-Big 12 First Team selection, while Gilbert was named to the second team. Lipsey was a unanimous selection to the All-Defensive Team, while Gilbert was named to the All-Newcomer Team. Momcilovic was named to the All-Freshman Team.
- Lipsey was named an AP Honorable Mention All-American and also earned a spot on the NABC All-District 8 Team.
Iowa State has won 18-straight games at Hilton Coliseum, the fifth longest active home winning streak in the country.
- ISU, McNeese and Samford are the only undefeated teams in the country at home with at least 18 wins.
Iowa State has won six Big 12 Tournaments now in the last 11 seasons.
Iowa State ranks second in the nation in turnover percentage at 25.6 percent. ISU has been in the top six in the country in each of Otzelberger's seasons, ranking sixth in 2022 (24.6%) and second in 2023 (25%).
Iowa State is one of four schools in the country, and the only Power Six school, to force 25 or more turnovers in multiple games against NCAA Division I opponents this season.
Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert each have triple-doubles to their names this season - making ISU the only team in the country with multiple players boasting a triple-double.
- There are now eight in school history.
Only four players in the country are averaging at least 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game this season. Two of them reside in the Cyclone backcourt in Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert, with ISU being the only school in the nation with multiple players hitting those marks.
Lipsey had a school-record steal streak of 34-straight games snapped this season. It was the second longest streak in the country. He has a steal in 65 of the 67 games he has played.
The Cyclones are 30-1 under T.J. Otzelberger when four or more players score in double figures.
The six highest-scoring Cyclone outputs under Otzelberger have all come this season, including a pair of 100-point performances. Nine of the 10 highest under Otz have also come this season.
Otzelberger was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year. There are 10 semifinalists for the award. Last year Otzelberger made it on to the late season watch list of 15.
The Cyclones have scored 90 or more points six times this season. It is the most times hitting that mark in a season since the 2016-17 team did so eight times.
As of Saturday, the Cyclones are ranked No. 6 in the NET. The Cyclones slot in at No. 6 in the KenPom rankings and are No. 6 in ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

Wazzu guard Myles Rice was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year this season, becoming the first WSU player to earn the award.
- He set the freshman single-game scoring, single-season scoring, steals, assists and field goals record.
Washington State big man Isaac Jones recorded the program's first ever NCAA Tournament double-double on Thursday, as he went for 20 and 11 in the win over Drake.
The team saw three players earn All-Pac-12 nods for the first time since 1980 as both Jones and Rice were on the All-Conference First Team while Jaylen Wells was an honorable mention.
The Cougars won 14 conference games this season, tying the school record for the most in a single season. Wazzu also earned 14 conference wins in both 1979—80 and 1982-83.
Washington State slots in at No. 37 in KenPom, No. 42 in ESPN's BPI and No. 44 in the NET.
Former Cyclone Aljaz Kunc began his career at Washington State before transferring to Iowa State.
According to KenPom, Washington State is the second-tallest team in college basketball and ranks top 30 nationally in blocked shots.
Washington State head coach Kyle Smith is in his fifth season at the helm of the Cougar basketball program. The Cougs are 94-70 during his tenure and this is the team's first NCAA Tournament appearance uncer him.
- Smith is 258-192 in his career, as he had previous head coaching tenures at both San Francisco and Columbia.
- Smith was named the John R. Wooden Pac-12 Coach of the Year after leading the Cougars to their best season of the Pac-12 Era.

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Players Mentioned

Omaha Biliew

Keshon Gilbert

Curtis Jones

Robert Jones

Tre King

Tamin Lipsey

Milan Momcilovic

Jackson Paveletzke

Hason Ward

Demarion Watson

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