Mar 21, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Milan Momcilovic (22) shoots against South Dakota State Jackrabbits guard Zeke Mayo (2) in the first half in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at CHI Health Center Omaha. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports
OMAHA, Neb. — Second-seeded Iowa State easily handled 15th-seeded South Dakota State on Thursday night in Omaha. Here are my five first thoughts from the win.
1 — The crowd on Thursday night was simply spectacular.
It’s difficult for Iowa State fans to surprise me these days, but the atmosphere within Omaha’s beautiful CHI Health Center at the beginning of the game was truly awesome. This atmosphere contributed to Iowa State’s fast start
During the television broadcast, South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson referenced his team as being ‘a bit rattled’ early on. This was evident as Iowa State started the game 8-of-8 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point range, and only missed its first shot when Hason Ward attempted a free throw at the 14:24 mark in the first half.
Things cooled down a bit energy wise.
2 — Iowa State lost its flow, but regained proper form early in the second half.
It felt like Iowa State let up a bit defensively after jumping out to such a big lead early. I give a lot of credit to South Dakota State for keeping it to a seven-point game at halftime. The Cyclones had a few sloppy turnovers late in the first half that turned into points the other way.
South Dakota State narrowed the game to within four points early in the second half, and that’s where things turned for the Jacks. The guys in blue thought they got a couple of bad whistles and started to lose their composure just before the 16 and under. There was a moment when SDSU’s Luke Appel (a Marshalltown native) had a run in with Keshon Gilbert, and it was over from there.
South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson saw it. He was telling his team to keep its cool when Gilbert went into beast mode, leading the Cyclones on a 10-0 run. The game was over from there.
3 — Hello, Mommy.
A lot of casual college basketball fans had probably never heard of Milan Momcilovic before Thursday night. That likely changed after his performance in tonight’s game.
Momcilovic had struggled towards the end of the regular season but rediscovered his form last week in Kansas City. The freshman has hit plenty of big shots this year for the Cyclones, but I struggle to find a better overall game than the one he played in his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Baby Dirk dropped one silky fadeaway after another, knocking down BLANK threes along the way.
When No. 22 is playing at this level, it elevates Iowa State’s offensive potential to an entirely different level.
4 — Hason Ward is really coming on strong at the perfect time.
Speaking of players who elevate this team, let’s talk about Hason Ward for a moment. Similar to Momcilovic, Ward was pretty non-existent during that sleepy stretch for Iowa State at the end of February. That is no longer the case. He re-engaged in Kansas City and lit the Omaha crowd on fire with a few dazzling dunks on Thursday night.
5 — Bad mojo
When Tamin Lipsey exited the game with around five minutes to play, the pro-Iowa State crowd was dead silent. Lipsey grimaced as he returned to the bench holding his shoulder.
Thankfully, he’s fine.
But did anybody else have flashbacks to Georges Niang’s broken foot back against NC Central in 2014?
Yikes.
All is well, and Iowa State’s season is moving on to the Round of 32 against either Washington State or Drake on Saturday.
