ST. LOUIS — Tennessee State likes a track meet, but there was no keeping pace with the Cyclones on Friday in a first-round matchup with No. 2 seed Iowa State.
The Cyclones dominated the final 38 minutes of action in a 108-74 victory, advancing to play No. 7 Kentucky in a second-round Midwest Region game on Sunday.
Iowa State took it to the No. 15 seed Tigers and kept regulars on the court deep into the game despite losing All-American forward Joseph Jefferson to a left leg injury early on.
Head coach T.J. Otzelberger said X-rays were negative and that Jefferson would be re-evaluated on Saturday before determining his game status against Kentucky.
“Joshua is an unbelievable player and unbelievable leader. Not having him out there presented a lot of challenges. But proud of our guys,” Otzelberger said.
Freshman Killyan Toure had 25 points, 11 rebounds and six assists, Nate Heise had 22 points, and Milan Momcilovic added 17 for Iowa State, which forced 16 turnovers.
“It starts defensively and then getting out in transition,” Otzelberger said.
Aaron Nkrumah led the Tigers with 21 points. Antoine Lorick III added 20 points and eight rebounds.
Momcilovic hit his third three of the game to roll Iowa State into triple digits, 101-63, with 4:14 on the clock. Iowa State was 11 of 24 from 3-point range.
Heise knocked down the 10th 3-pointer of the game for Iowa State with 11:25 left during a stretch where the Cyclones made 9 of 11 shot attempts. The Cyclones were up 82-47 and every player on the court was still a regular playing at full speed.
Jefferson spent the second half on the end of the bench in street clothes, with crutches and a walking boot on his left leg.
“Next man up mentality. I mean, obviously it sucks, but we all trust each other, we all put in the work,” senior guard Dominick Nelson said of losing Jefferson.
He was hurt after scoring two minutes, 36 seconds into the game. Trainers helped Jefferson to his feet and he was taken directly for X-rays on his lower left leg and ankle.
Jefferson, who plays a point forward role for the Cyclones, was crossing the lane left to right and crumbled under the Cyclones basket as the ball went through the net. He could not put weight on his left foot as he reached the tunnel. Jefferson’s short-range shot attempt went through and he rolled over the outside of his left foot, which bent sharply inward, sending Jefferson to the floor.
He averaged 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game entering Friday.
Tennessee State scored first, leading 1-0 on Travis Harper II’s free throw, and spent the next 39 minutes, 30 seconds trying to slow down the Cyclones. Iowa State had five steals and 12 points off turnovers in a 23-0 run to build a lead of 38-9 at the under-8 timeout.
Iowa State draws Kentucky, a dramatic overtime winner over Santa Clara on Friday, in the second round on Sunday with a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in Otzelberger’s five seasons.
Kavien Jones was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul with 7:30 to play. The Tennessee State big man left his feet as Dominykas Pleta faked and Jones grabbed his arm as he went to the floor.
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
