03.22.2022

AMES, Iowa – In its first season under head coach T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State is making its sixth Sweet Sixteen appearance this weekend when it faces Miami in the Midwest Regional semifinal at United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

The Matchup: 11-seed Iowa State (22-12, 7-11 Big 12) vs. 10-seed Miami (25-10, 14-5 Big 12)
Where: Chicago, Ill. – United Center
When: Sunday, March 20, Approx. 9 p.m. (CDT)
Radio: Cyclone Radio Network/Varsity Radio App
Talent: John Walters (PxP), Eric Heft (Analyst)
TV: TBS
Talent: Kevin Harlan (PxP), Reggie Miller & Dan Bonner (Analyst); Dana Jacobson (Reporter)
Webcast: NCAA.com
Live Stats: NCAA.com

KEY STORYLINES
– Iowa State owns a 22-12 record, a +20 improvement in the win column this season compared to last, the best turnaround in school and Big 12 history and the best-ever by a team led by a first-year head coach … only Towson (+21) has a bigger improvement in NCAA history.
– The Cyclones are looking to make their second Elite Eight of the modern tournament era (2000).
– ISU has defeated LSU and Wisconsin in the tournament, which matches its win total from last season … in the two wins, ISU’s defense has been stifling, holding opponents to 51.5 points per game, 33.3 percent shooting and 14.6 percent 3-point shooting and forcing 18.0 turnovers.
– ISU leads Sweet Sixteen teams in scoring defense, FG percentage defense, 3-point FG percentage defense and turnovers forced … for the season, ISU is KenPom’s fifth-ranked team in defensive efficiency and fourth-ranked team in turnover percentage.
– Otzelberger is the eighth head coach in school history to lead the Cyclones to the tournament … he is the third coach in NCAA Tournament history to lead his program to the Sweet Sixteen in the first year after taking over a team with a losing record the previous season.
– Iowa State is 15-0 this season against non-conference opponents … ISU, Purdue (13-0) and Minnesota (9-0) are the only teams this season with undefeated records against non-con foes … ISU’s non-con opponents are averaging 55.1 points and shooting 36.8 percent from the field, 23.4 percent behind the arc while turning it over 18.5 times per game.
– Gabe Kalscheur propelled the Cyclones to the Sweet 16 with his 22-point performance against Wisconsin.

LAST TIME OUT
– Iowa State defeated Wisconsin on Sunday evening to advance to the Sweet Sixteen of the Midwest Region … the Cyclones held the Big Ten regular season champion to a season-low 29.8 percent shooting and stifled Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis to just 4-for-16 shooting … the Badgers made a season-low two 3-pointers … Gabe Kalscheur scored 22 points on 10-of-19 shooting to lead the Cyclones … ISU controlled the glass (39-36) and forced UW into a season-high 17 turnovers … the Badgers entered the game first nationally in turnovers per game, committing just 8.4 per contest.

ISU VERSUS MIAMI
– The Cyclones and Hurricanes are meeting for just the second time … Iowa State won the only other meeting in the semfinals at the 2016 Advocare Invitational … Deonte Burton led the Cyclones in that game with 21 points.
– Iowa State and Miami have no common opponents this season.
– The Cyclones are 2-0 all-time against No. 10 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Florida in 1995 and Miami (Ohio) in 1986.
– ISU is second nationally in turnovers forced (18 tpg), while Miami ranks sixth nationally in turnovers committed (9.4 tpg) … ISU has already faced two of the top five nationally in turnovers per game in Wisconsin (1st, 17 TOs) and Iowa (4th, 12 TOs).
– Iowa State faced Miami’s Charlie Moore and Kameron McGusty when the pair played at Kansas and Oklahoma, respectively.
– ISU’s Izaiah Brockington (Archbishop Ryan) and Miami’s Isaiah Wong (Monsignor Bonner) are both products of the Philadelphia Catholic League … the duo played together with the We R One AAU program.
– The Cyclones are 2-5 all-time against ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament.
– ISU is 6-17 all-time against teams currently in the ACC.

ISU NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
– Iowa State is playing in its 21st NCAA Tournament in school history as the No. 11 seed as part of the Midwest Region.
– Iowa State has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen six times (1986, 1997, 2000, 2014, 2016, 2022) in the modern era … ISU is looking for its second Elite Eight appearance in the modern era (2000).
– ISU is 21-20 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … T.J. Otzelberger is the eighth coach to lead Iowa State to the NCAA Tournament and the third to lead the Cyclones in their first season leading the program (Tim Floyd, Steve Prohm).
– Otzelberger is the only coach to lead the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament in his first season while coming off a losing season … he joins Prohm as the only Cyclone coaches to win two tournament games in his first season.
– Iowa State has made the tournament in eight of the last 11 seasons … the Cyclones are one of 14 teams with eight tournament berths since the 2011-12 season.
– ISU is a No. 11 seed for the first time in school history.
– The Cyclones are 0-4 all-time against No. 1 seeds (Michigan State, 2000; North Carolina, 2005; Kentucky, 2012; Virginia, 2016) … three of the four teams were the number one overall seeds and went on to win the national title with all three games being played in the opponent’s home state.
– Iowa State is 13-8 playing in the Midwest Region.
– 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.
– The Cyclones have won their first game in 11 of their last 14 NCAA Tournament appearances.
– ISU has had two players lead the NCAA Tournament in scoring average (minimum of three games played) during their respective careers … Dedric Willoughby averaged 24.7 ppg in 1997 (3 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.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
– Iowa State owns an 8-8 record vs. eight teams in the 2022 NCAA Tournament field: Baylor (0-2), Creighton (1-0), Iowa (1-0), Kansas (0-2), Memphis (1-0), Texas (1-1), TCU (1-1), Texas Tech (1-2), LSU (1-0), Wisconsin (1-0).
– Eight of ISU’s 21 regular season opponents earned tournament bids.
– ISU is playing in Chicago for the first time since the 2016 NCAA Tournament when it fell to Virginia (84-71) in the Sweet Sixteen.
– All-time, ISU is 0-2 playing at United Center: Lost to Duke (86-65, 1/6/2010) and Virginia (84-71, 3/25/16).
– The eight coaches to lead the Cyclones to the NCAA Tournament are: T.J. Otzelberger, Steve Prohm, Fred Hoiberg, Wayne Morgan, Larry Eustachy, Tim Floyd, Johnny Orr and Louis Menze.
– Otzelberger is coaching in his third NCAA Tournament (2017, 2018, 2022) and his fourth postseason overall (2019 NIT) … he is 2-2 in NCAA Tournament games.
– Hunter leads all true freshmen in the NCAA Tournament with 165 assists.
– Kunc blocked a pair of shots in both of ISU’s first two NCAA Tournament games … he’s the first Cyclone to have back-to-back NCAA Tournament games with two blocks since Jameel McKay.

To read the complete release, click here (PDF).

COURTESY IOWA STATE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS