OMAHA – 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. Tip-off is at 5:10 PM on TNT.
Washington State beat Drake, 66-61, to reach this game.
Today’s game is the first meeting between the two schools.
Iowa State is 2-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament against teams currently in the Pac-12.
Overall, the Cyclones are 94-93 all-time against the Pac-12, with a majority of those games coming against Colorado. Iowa State is 78-70 against the Buffaloes, a team that was a member of the Big 8/12 and will be returning to the Big 12 next season.
Former Cyclone Aljaž “Jaz” Kunc played for Washington State before transferring to Iowa State. Kunc was the first player to commit to Otzelberger after he accepted the job at Iowa State in 2021.
Iowa State Assistant Coach Kyle Green and Director of Player Development Erik Crawford were members of the 2015 Northern Iowa coaching staff when the Panthers beat the Cougars 63-59 in the consolation semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic.
Washington State Associate Head Coach Jim Shaw spent five seasons at Oklahoma on the staff of Kelvin Sampson from 1999-04. During that time, the Cyclones picked up a pair of wins over the Sooners, including a win in the 2000 Big 12 Championship.
Washington State Assistant Coach Derrick Wrobel was a member of the Cal coaching staff in 2010 when the Bears came to Hilton Coliseum and picked up a 76-73 win over Iowa State.
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.