By R.G. Mason

3 28 2024

IOWA STATE GAME NOTES

https://cyclones.com/documents/2024/3/26/Gm37_vsNCAA3rd_3-28-24-Illinois.pdf

Who: No. 4 Iowa State (29-7, 13-5 Big 12) vs. No. 10 Illinois (28-8, 14-6 Big Ten)

Where: TD Garden (19,156) – Boston, Mass.

When: Thursday, March 28, 2024 – roughly 9:09 p.m. CT

Tipping Off: No. 2 seed Iowa State is set to face No. 3 seed Illinois in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal. This is the seventh time in program history the Cyclones have advanced to the Sweet 16, as the Cyclones are set to tie a program record with their 37th game of the year.

The Cyclones ran their winning streak to five over the weekend, picking up wins over No. 15 seed South Dakota State (82-65) and No. 7 seed Washington State (67-56) to advance to the seventh Sweet 16 in program history.

ISU took the lead for good at the start of the second half last time out against No. 25 Washington State, as it would go on to beat seventh-seeded Wazzu and advance to the Sweet 16 for the second time in the last three years under Coach Otzelberger.

With last Saturday’s win, the 2023-24 Cyclones claimed the second-most wins in a single season in program history. The school record of 32 was set in 1999-00 when the team made its last Elite Eight appearance.

A top 10 battle in the East Region Semifinals, the Cyclones will face an Illinois program that cruised to a pair of wins in its first two tournament games. The Illini have won both tournament games by an average of 21 points.

Iowa State is 3-1 against Big Ten schools under Coach Otz, and the program has defeated Illinois in the previous two meetings between the two Midwest schools.

Storylines:

• With a victory on Thursday, No. 2 seed Iowa State would advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history. The game would be played on Saturday at a time to be determined in Boston.
• Iowa State cruised to the Big 12 Championship, winning all three games by an average of 20.3 points. Those wins included two over top 15 teams. Keshon Gilbert was named the Big 12 Championship Most Outstanding Player, while Tamin Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic were named to the All-Championship Team.
• ISU is 1-5 all-time in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
  • Overall, the Cyclones are 23-22 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).
  • Coach Otzelberger is the only coach in Iowa State history to take two teams to the Sweet 16.
• 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 13.7 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 (197) and third in FT made (144).
    • He is second on the team in assists (153) 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 12.5 points per game to go along with team-highs in assists (172) and steals (93).
  • Lipsey leads all Big 12 players in steals and steals per game.
    • He is fourth and fifth, respectively, in those categories nationally.
  • 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 10.6 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 22-of-36 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 (82) 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 190 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 (17.33) in the country – tops in the Big 12.
  • The Cyclones average 10.3 steals per game, also tops in the Big 12 and fourth in the country.
• As a head coach, Otz is 169-97 overall and has led the Cyclones to a 70-34 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.
  • Lipsey also recently earned CSC Academic All-District Honors.
• 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 25.2 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 five players in the country are averaging at least 12.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.9 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 68 games he has played.
• The Cyclones are 31-1 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 finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year. There are four 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 Wednesday, the Cyclones are ranked No. 6 in the NET. The Cyclones slot in at No. 7 in the KenPom rankings and are No. 6 in ESPN’s Basketball Power Index.

Switching Sides:

• Illinois guard Terrence Shannon Jr. has done it all for the Illini, as he leads the team in scoring with 23.3 a contest and he has scored in double figures in all 30 contests he’s played in this season and his last 40 games total as an Illini.
  • Shannon is on the watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, was named an AP third-team All-American and a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
• Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask recorded a triple-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists in the team’s first round victory over Morehead State. It was just the 10th triple-double in NCAA Tournament history.
  • It was the sixth in program history.
• The third head of the Illini attack is Coleman Hawkins. He is the only player in Illinois’ program history too record career totals of 900+ points, 500+ rebounds, 200+ assists, 100+ blocks, and 100+ steals.
• Like Iowa State, Illinois has found success in its conference tournament, as the Illini have taken two of the last four Big Ten Tournament titles.
• Illinois slots in at No. 10 in KenPom, No. 11 in ESPN’s BPI and No. 13 in the NET.
• Illinois is 1-8 against top-two seeds in the NCAA Tournament with the lone win coming back in 1989.
• Over the last five years, Illinois has the highest winning percentage (.690) of any Big Ten team in conference play.
  • The Illini are one of just five teams to post five-straight 20-or-more win seasons over the last five years.
• Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is in his seventh season at the helm of the Fighting Illini basketball program. The Illini are 142-87 during his tenure and he has helped lead them to the school’s first Sweet 16 since 2005.
  • Underwood is 194-112 in his 11-year career, as he had previous head coaching tenures at both SFA and Oklahoma State.
  • As a head coach, Underwood is 0-4 against Iowa State, dropping three contests to the Cyclones in his lone year at Oklahoma State before dropping a fourth against ISU at Illinois in Maui.

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3 ILLINOIS (28-8, 14-6) at 2024 NCAA Tournamenta
Tournament Central	NCAA March Madness Live | Illinois Tournament Central
Regional Semifinal	vs. No. 2 seed Iowa State
Date | Time	Thursday, March 28, 2024  |  9:09 p.m. CT (10:09 p.m. ET)
Location	Boston, Mass. | TD Garden
Tickets	SeatGeek
Broadcast	TBS/TruTV (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, & Andy Katz)
Live Stream	NCAA March Madness Live | NCAA March Madness App
Radio	Busey Bank Illini Sports Network | Varsity Network App | SiriusXM 209 or 202, SXM App 965
Live Stats	NCAA March Madness Live
Printable Notes	Illinois | Iowa State
Pregame Press Conference	Video | Transcript
2023-24 Stats	Illinois | Iowa State | Big Ten | NCAA
Record Book	Illinois | Iowa State | Big Ten | NCAA
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HEAD COACH BRAD UNDERWOOD

Career Record: 251-114 (.688), 11th year
At Illinois: 142-87 (.620), 7th year
Big Ten: 80-58 (.580)
NCAA Tournament Career: 6-7 (eighth appearance)
NCAA Tournament at Illinois: 4-3 (fourth appearance)

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Appearances / Streak: 34th / 4
Record: 44-34 (.564)
Final Four Appearances: 5 / 2005

NCAA TOURNAMENT SWEET 16 OPPONENT – NO. 2 SEED IOWA STATE

Series Record / Streak: Illinois leads 11-3 / Iowa State W-2
Last Meeting: Iowa State 84, Illinois 68 (11/20/2018 at Maui, Hawaii)
Record in the NCAA Tournament: First meeting
Underwood vs. Iowa State at Illinois / All-Time: 0-1 / 0-4

FIGHTING ILLINI UNDER HEAD COACH BRAD UNDERWOOD

• Big Ten’s winningest team in league play over last five seasons (.690)
• 69 B1G wins from 2019-20 through 2023-24 are most in school history over five-year stretch
• Four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (fifth precluded by COVID-19 cancelation in 2020)
• NCAA Tournament wins three of the last four years
• Program’s first Sweet 16 since advancing to 2005 national title game
• One of only five schools with five straight 20-win regular seasons
• Three Big Ten Championships in last four years
• Five straight top-five B1G finishes, including top-two finishes three of the last four years
• Three consensus All-Americans
• Seven first-team All-Big Ten selections
• 2024 B1G Tournament Champions
• 2022 B1G Champions
• Led B1G in wins in 2021
• 2021 B1G Tournament Champions
• 2021 NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed (fourth in school history)

FIGHTING ILLINI NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Following victories over Morehead State (85-69) in Round 1 and Duquesne (89-63) in Round 2 last week in Omaha, Neb., Illinois advances to the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal at TD Garden in Boston. The third-seeded Fighting Illini will face second-seeded Iowa State on Thursday (9:09 p.m. CT, TBS/TruTV).
• Illinois is making its 34th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fourth straight.• Illinois is playing in the Sweet 16 for first time since its 2005 NCAA Championship game appearance.
• Overall, this marks Illinois’ 12th all-time appearance in the Sweet 16, and the ninth time that the Fighting Illini have reached this stage since the tournament field expanded to 32 teams in 1975.
• Illinois ranks fifth among Big Ten teams and 19th among all schools for most NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Illinois is one of only three Big Ten teams – and one of just 14 teams nationally – to earn a bid in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments.
• Illinois’ active streak of four straight NCAA Tournament appearances is its longest since participating eight years in a row from 2000 through 2007.
• Illinois has compiled a 44-34 (.564) record all-time in NCAA Tournament games.
• Illinois’ 44 NCAA Tournament wins ranks tied for 22nd among all schools.
• Illinois’ 44 NCAA Tournament wins are third-most among teams yet to win a national championship, trailing Gonzaga and Purdue (46 each).
• Among the teams who have advanced to the Sweet 16, Illinois’ 44 NCAA Tournament wins rank tied for seventh.
  • 1. North Carolina – 133
  • 2. Duke – 121
  • 3. UConn – 67
  • 4. Arizona – 60
  • T5. Gonzaga – 46
  • T5. Purdue – 46
  • T7. Illinois – 44
  • T7. Marquette – 44
  • 9. Houston – 40
  • 10. N.C. State – 39
  • T11. Alabama – 27
  • T11. Tennessee – 27
  • 13. Iowa State – 23
  • 14. Creighton – 20
  • T15. Clemson – 13
  • T15. San Diego State – 13
• Illinois has made five appearances in the NCAA Final Four, finishing as the national runner-up in 2005, placing third in 1949, 1951 and 1952, and tying for third in 1989.
• Illinois’ five Final Four appearances are second-most among teams yet to win a national title, trailing only Houston (6), and tied with Oklahoma.
• Head Coach Brad Underwood has brought Fighting Illini Basketball back to being a national contender. His rebuild of the program brought success in year three of his tenure, leading the Illini to a top-25 finish and what would have been an NCAA Tournament appearance before the 2020 postseason was canceled due to COVID-19. He directed Illinois to a Big Ten Tournament title and #1 seed in 2021, as Illinois played in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013. Underwood guided the Illini to a Big Ten Championship and #4 seed in 2022, advancing to the Round of 32 for the second straight season. In 2023, Underwood guided the Illini back to the NCAA tournament for a third straight season. He extended that streak to four straight after leading the Illini to the 2024 Big Ten Tournament Championship. Underwood has now led Illinois to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the team’s run to the 2005 Final Four.
• With this year’s appearance, Underwood is the third coach in school history to lead Illinois to at least four straight NCAA Tournaments, joining Lou Henson (eight straight from 1983-90) and Bruce Weber (four in a row from 2004-07).
• Underwood is making his eighth overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament with his third program in 11 seasons as a Div. I head coach. He previously led Stephen F. Austin to three consecutive automatic bids from 2014-2016, advancing to the Round of 32 in 2014 and 2016. He then took Oklahoma State to the Tournament in his lone season in Stillwater in 2017. Underwood owns a 6-7 career record in the NCAA Tournament, including a 4-3 mark at Illinois.
• Illinois is a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history. Following wins over Morehead State and Duquesne in Rounds 1 and 2, the Illini hold an all-time record of 5-3 as a #3 seed:
  • 1985 First Round (Atlanta, Ga.) – #3 Illinois 76, #14 Northeastern 57
  • 1985 Second Round (Atlanta, Ga.) – #3 Illinois 74, #6 Georgia 58
  • 1985 Regional Semifinal (Providence, R.I.) – #2 Georgia Tech 61, #3 Illinois 53
  • 1987 First Round (Birmingham, Ala.) – #14 Austin Peay 68, #3 Illinois 67
  • 1988 First Round (Cincinnati, Ohio) – #3 Illinois 81, #14 Texas-San Antonio 72
  • 1988 Second Round (Cincinnati, Ohio) – #6 Villanova 66, #3 Illinois 63
  •  2024 First Round (Omaha, Neb.) – #3 Illinois 85, #14 Morehead State 69
  • 2024 Second Round (Omaha, Neb.) – #3 Illinois 89, #11 Duquesne 63
• Illinois is 33-16 as a higher (better) seed in the NCAA Tournament, and 2-11 as the lower seed.
• Illinois is 7-4 all-time in the NCAA Round of 16 since the field was expanded to 16 teams in 1951:
  • 1951 First Round (New York, N.Y.) – Illinois 79, Columbia 71
  • 1952 Regional Semifinals (Chicago, Ill.) – Illinois 80, Dayton 61
  • 1963 Regional Semifinals (East Lansing, Mich.) – Illinois 70, Bowling Green 67
  • 1981 Regional Semifinals (Salt Lake City, Utah) – #8 Kansas State 57, #4 Illinois 52
  • 1984 Regional Semifinals (Lexington, Ky.) – #2 Illinois 72, #3 Maryland 70
  • 1985 Regional Semifinals (Providence, R.I.) – #2 Georgia Tech 61, #3 Illinois 53
  • 1989 Regional Semifinals (Minneapolis, Minn.) – #1 Illinois 83, #4 Louisville 69
  • 2001 Regional Semifinals (San Antonio, Texas) – #1 Illinois 80, #4 Kansas 64
  • 2002 Regional Semifinals (Madison, Wis.) – #1 Kansas 73, #4 Illinois 81
  • 2004 Regional Semifinals (Atlanta, Ga.) – #1 Duke 72, #5 Illinois 62
  • 2005 Regional Semifinals (Rosemont, Ill.) – #1 Illinois 77, #12 Wisconsin-Milwaukee 63
• Illinois is 5-4 all-time in Round of 8 games in the NCAA Tournament:
  • 1942 Regional Semifinal (New Orleans, La.) – Kentucky 46, Illinois 44
  • 1949 Regional Semifinal (New York, N.Y.) – Illinois 71, Yale 67
  • 1951 Regional Semifinal (New York, N.Y.) – Illinois 84, NC State 70
  • 1952 Sweet 16 (Chicago, Ill.) – Illinois 74, Duquesne 68
  • 1963 Sweet 16 (East Lansing, Mich.) – Loyola Chicago 79, Illinois 64
  • 1984 Elite 8 (Lexington, Ky.) – #1 Kentucky 54, #2 Illinois 51
  • 1989 Elite 8 (Minneapolis, Minn.) – #1 Illinois 89, #2 Syracuse 86
  • 2001 Elite 8 (San Antonio, Texas) – #2 Arizona 87, #1 Illinois 81
  • 2005 Elite 8 (Rosemont, Ill.) – #1 Illinois 90, #3 Arizona 89 (OT)
• Illinois is a combined 1-8 against top-2 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, with its lone win coming in 1989 as the top seed over #2 seed Syracuse in the Midwest Regional final.
• Illinois is 1-3 all-time against the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament:
  • 1985 Regional Semifinal (Providence, R.I.) – #2 Georgia Tech 61, #3 Illinois 53
  • 1989 Regional Final (Minneapolis, Minn.) – #1 Illinois 89, #2 Syracuse 77
  • 2001 Regional Final (San Antonio, Texas) – #2 Arizona 87, #1 Illinois 81
• Illinois is 11-3 all-time against Sweet 16 opponent Iowa State:
  • #2 Iowa State (11-3 Overall / 5-0 Home / 4-1 Away / 2-2 Neutral)
    • 12-21-1923    16-12    W    Champaign, Ill.
    • 12-21-1925    33-14    W    Ames, Iowa
    • 12-21-1957    60-68    L    Ames, Iowa
    • 12-15-1958    68-46    W    Champaign, Ill.
    • 12-16-1961    82-73    W    Champaign, Ill.
    • 12-15-1962    76-73    W    Ames, Iowa
    • 12-14-1968    75-48    W    Champaign, Ill.
    • 12-12-1970    78-63    W    Ames, Iowa
    • 12-12-1972    74-60    W    Champaign, Ill.
    • 12-9-1974    77-71    W    Ames, Iowa
    • 1-3-1983    74-57    W    Rosemont, Ill.
    • 12-30-1985    64-62    W    Rosemont, Ill.
    • 11-28-2015    73-85    L    Niceville, Fla.
    • 11-20-2018    68-84    L    Maui, Hawaii
• Illinois’ all-time series results against potential opponents for Saturday’s Elite Eight round:
  •     #1 Connecticut (1-2 Overall / 1-1 Home / 0-1 Away / 0-0 Neutral)
    • 12-21-1938    49-23    W    Champaign
    • 1-4-1992    66-70    L    Champaign
    • 12-27-1994    56-71    L    Hartford, Conn.
  •     #5 San Diego State (1-0 Overall / 0-0 Home / 0-0 Away / 1-0 Neutral)
    • 3-15-2002    93-64     W    Chicago, United Center (NCAA Midwest Region First Round)
• The 2024 NCAA Tournament began with 11 former Illinois coaches in the field.
  • Two have advanced to the Sweet 16:
    • Former assistant coaches Stephen Gentry (Gonzaga assistant coach)
    • Former graduate assistant Brian Dutcher (San Diego State head coach)
  •   Nine were eliminated in Round 1 or Round 2:
    • Former head coach Bill Self (Kansas head coach)
    • Former head coach John Groce (Akron head coach)
    • Former assistant coaches Orlando Antigua (Kentucky associate coach), Chin Coleman (Kentucky             assistant coach), Dustin Ford (Akron associate coach), Chris Lowery (Northwestern associate coach), Norm Roberts (Kansas assistant coach) and Jamall Walker (Grand Canyon assistant coach)
    • Former assistant to the head coach Darren Hertz (Dayton assistant coach)
• Third-year Illinois assistant coach Chester Frazier also played in the NCAA Tournament as Illini.

Complete Illinois Game Notes (PDF)

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