Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey (3) reacts after a play during the first half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
ST. LOUIS — Tamin Lipsey “had a feeling.”
Iowa State’s record-setting senior point guard isn’t exactly sure when the insightful vibe struck him, but he shared it with sharpshooting teammate Milan Momcilovic, who liked what he heard.
“He told me he had a feeling before the game that we were gonna win,” Momcilovic said. “And when he has a feeling, he’s usually right.”
He was on Sunday, when Lipsey’s keen sixth sense led to backbreaking swishes for the second-seeded Cyclones (29-7) in an 82-63 rout of seventh-seeded Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Enterprise Center.
Lipsey’s “feeling” foreshadowed a career-best 26-point effort as the lifelong ISU fan simply refused to let his hometown team lose as fellow senior star Joshua Jefferson was sidelined with a severe ankle injury.
“All of us have gut feelings when it comes to certain things, and I just had a good feeling about the game,” said Lipsey, who also matched a career high with 10 assists while becoming the first Cyclone ever to notch five or more steals in 11 games. “Not necessarily about my performance or anything, but just a good feeling and I feel like that just made me play freely out there.”
ISU — which advanced to the Sweet 16 for the third time in five seasons under head coach T.J. Otzelberger — felt anything but free when it trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half.
The Cyclones started 1-for-14 from 3-point range and were shooting just 25 percent from the field when they trailed, 30-23, and proceeded to hit their two biggest shots of the game.
The first — a 3-pointer from Momcilovic — came after hustle plays by forward Blake Buchanan and guard Killyan Toure kept a possession alive. The second — sixth man Nate Heise’s buzzer-beating corner 3 off a Lipsey assist — gave ISU a 31-30 halftime lead.
But which shot was biggest? Easy, Momcilovic said.
“Definitely Heise’s before half,” said the 6-8 junior from Pewaukee, Wis., who finished with 20 points and drained four 3-pointers. “I mean, mine was good, but to do go up at half and knowing we didn’t play our best, that kind of set the tone for the second half.”
Lipsey then added another layer of harmony to ISU’s dominant melody by drilling a stepback 3-pointer just 24 seconds into the final half.
“It was insane,” said Heise, who added 12 points off then bench. “At the end of the game I looked up — and I didn’t know he had 26 points. It kind of just crept up on you, but obviously so much respect for him and how he plays. You don’t want it (more) for any other guy because of what he means for this team; how much blood, sweat and tears he’s put in this program.”
But remember, he “had a feeling” — and that stepback dagger simply kept him on-script.
“I had to step back, like, 10 feet it felt like to get back to the 3-point line, and he still had a pretty good contest,” said Lipsey, whose previous career high was 25 points. “I just saw it go in. I knew it felt good releasing it. From there on, I just got that much more confidence and I think the team fed off that energy from that shot and we just went on a run.”
That momentous shot turned an 8-0 run to end the half into an 11-0 flourish and the Cyclones wouldn’t trail again while handing the Wildcats (22-14) tournament loss since also losing by 19 to Florida State in 1972.
Jefferson — who hopes to be back for Friday’s Sweet 16 game against sixth-seeded Tennessee in Chicago — eventually exulted with his team despite being forced to sit out.
“I was so mad I couldn’t be out there doing it with them because you always want to be a part of it, but proud of everybody who’s stepping up and playing well,” he said.
As for Lipsey’s performance? Jefferson “had a feeling” about that, too.
“Tamin’s always gonna step up to the occasion,” he said. “He’s been a great leader all year and then he showed that today. … Still got some more wins to get.”
