Mar 13, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones bench reacts after a play during the second half against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images
Selection Sunday is all said and done, and the Cyclones fared about as well as most fans expected, even with the women lining up at the nation’s No. 1 team’s house.
The men received a No. 2 seed and will stay close to home in St. Louis, a location that will likely feature as many Cyclone fans as can possibly fit in the joint Friday. With zero data to back up this point, I would imagine top teams would prefer to take the floor during the Thursday matchup, as playing first keeps you focused on your own team and the opponent rather than the narratives that start spinning about the other 66 teams in the bracket. While the Cyclones do not have that luxury this time, it is difficult to envision a world where they are bested by No. 15 seed Tennessee State. The 23-9 Tigers took on one significant opponent in non-conference in No. 6 seed Tennessee, but were drubbed by 29 points. Obviously, it’s March Madness, anything can happen; however, Iowa State is favored by 24.5 points and is fully expected to come away with a win.
The one thing the Tigers have going for them is the dominant conference tournament run, winning the Ohio Valley Championship capped by a 93-67 decimation over Morehead State.
Without stepping on my colleagues’ toes, as they are going to put out some great matchup previews, the draw beyond the first round was not bad for Iowa State either. The Round of 64 winner will play the winner of No. 7 Kentucky and No. 10 Santa Clara. The two teams are having polar opposite seasons, with Kentucky struggling to carve out a top spot in the SEC at 21-13 and Santa Clara becoming sort of a third fiddle in the WCC to join the ballet with annual dancers Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s at 26-8. While Kentucky obviously played a significantly tougher schedule, it will be interesting to see how the vibes of a Wildcat team in a down year match against the jubilation of a thriving Santa Clara squad.
There are no such things as moral victories, and losing on a buzzer-beater against Big 12 Champion Arizona certainly did not feel like a victory, but the Big 12 Tournament was the best three-game stretch of basketball this Cyclone team has played all season long. Even with some of the great non-conference wins against Purdue, St. John’s and Iowa, the Cyclones never looked that clean.
It was Anthony Dell’Orso that was the difference-maker in a two-point game for Arizona. Dell’Orso is a 9.0 point-per-game player that went for 26 in the win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Semifinal.
With that being said, it was far from a miracle for Dell’Orso, as he is a more than capable player. During the 2023-24 season with the Campbell Camels, Dell’Orso averaged 19.5 points per game.
All of this to say, it may not have been the dream Big 12 title run, but Iowa State was fading, straying further and further away from national contender conversations in recent weeks. At the Big 12 Tournament, dribbling the heads of Sparky and Raider Red simultaneously straight through the glass court and pushing Arizona to the absolute limit, Iowa State proved it can peak at the right time.
As for the cause of the switch flipping, it was seemingly just the mental reset of the postseason. The Cyclones looked loose and willing to take risks again rather than playing back-down bully-ball. Joshua Jefferson had his legs back under him, and was nothing short of an All-American caliber player at the tournament. Tamin Lipsey was once again the player that dictated the tempo and Killyan Toure even found his offense again. Milan Momcilovic had maybe the most insane Cyclone performance of the Otzelberger-era with 28 points on 8-of-14 from three. It was the nature of the shots that made it the most impressive, including a 9-0 run of his own to end the half and an insane hot streak to end the game.
The women’s squad did not have much room to argue where it landed in the bracket after a 22-9 year littered with injuries. When Arianna Jackson and Addy Brown returned to action, the Cyclones did have a nice little stretch run, but a rough loss to a beatable Arizona State team ended the season on a sour note.
When the team names hit the paper, it was far from the dream draw. As a No. 8 seed, Iowa State will face No. 9 Syracuse at the UConn Regional. Those two teams are evenly matched, that is not where the worry is stemming from. The Round of 32 game will almost automatically come against 34-0 No. 1 seed UConn in their house. There is no such thing as a down year for UConn these days, and despite that they still found a way to be impressive. Through a difficult schedule, the Huskies beat all but No. 6 Michigan by double-digits, and nearly all by 30-plus.
Yes, it would have been more ideal for the Cyclones to be a No. 10 or 11 seed and avoid the nation’s top seeds for a few rounds, but at the end of the day, a championship run was going to take a win over UConn regardless, so why wait.
What will it take? Probably the best shooting performance of the season along with one of UConn’s worst. Regardless, that’s the fun of March Madness. No one cares how many games you won in the regular season anymore.
