GREENSBORO, N.C. – No. 6 Seed Iowa State (19-14, 9-9 Big 12) fell to No. 11 Seed Pittsburgh (24-11, 14-6 ACC), 59-41 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday evening in the Greensboro Coliseum.
Iowa State was able to chip away at an early 20-point lead by Pittsburgh and get within seven just before the end of the first half, but the Panthers held the Cyclones to their lowest NCAA Tournament scoring effort since 1944 and will advance to take on No. 3 Seed Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes led the Cyclones in scoring with 12 points each. Kalscheur scored his 750th point as a Cyclone and made his presence known on the defensive side of the ball, tallying two steals. Holmes finished the game with four assists and five rebounds.
Tamin Lipsey recorded the most steals by a freshman in Iowa State history with 73 on the season and three tonight. Lipsey also led the Cyclones in rebounding with 10 and tied Gary Thompkins for the second most assists in a season by a freshman in program history.
Robert Jones grabbed seven rebounds in his 50th career start. Five of the seven boards came on the defensive side of the ball.
Pittsburgh was led by Nelly Cummings, who finished the game with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.
How It Happened
It was a slow start for the Cyclones. The team’s first field goal of the game came at the 10-minute mark of the first half. Pittsburgh took a 20-point lead mid-way through the period, but Iowa State cut into that lead with 21-8 run and went into the locker room down seven.
Jaren Holmes scored the Cyclones first basket to begin a 7-0 run that brought the Cyclones within 11 of the lead. Pittsburgh was able to push their lead back to 13 with 5:18 to play, but another layup from Holmes sparked a 10-4 run from the Cyclones to finish the half, 30-23.
Kalscheur opened the second half up with a quick layup to get within five, but the Panthers fired back with a 10-1 run. A couple Tre King free-throws brought Iowa State back within 10 at the 9:30 mark, but another Pittsburgh scoring run closed out the Cyclones potential comeback.
Top Performance
Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes led the Cyclones in scoring with 12 points each. Tamin Lipsey led the team in rebounds with 10 and steals with three. Tre King pitched in 11 points and shot 7-of-9 at the free-throw line.
