I was on the Iowa State Chicago Alumni Facebook page and saw a Go Fund Me for the "Presidents." These guys are great. I've met them a few times recently. They get tons of attention at events, but they aren't just attention-hogs. They are serious Iowa State sports fans. I contributed as soon as I herad about it. Hope some of you will help get them fully funded.

If you give as a result of this, please add "(CF)" to your last name so that we can see that support came from CycloneFanatic.com.

T.J. Otzelberger debunks rumors on taking other jobs, a Joshua Jefferson health update, Tamin Lipsey & Milan Momcilovic share their Sweet 16 experiences and Jada Williams is transferring. Jake Brend has it all on the Daily Clone presented by Fareway Meat & Grocery in the Northwest Bank Studios.
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5 days of CFB goodness we get to watch.

Starts off early today at 4:30 pm with Boise State @ USF.

Iowa State arrived at the team hotel on Wednesday ahead of Friday's Sweet 16 game against Tennessee.

Watch everything that head coach T.J. Otzelberger, senior Tamin Lipsey and junior Milan Momcilovic said below.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2026/03/...ey-and-momcilovic-at-team-hotel-on-wednesday/

2026 NCAA Wrestling Championships
March 19-21 | Cleveland, Ohio (Rocket Arena)
Session 5: March 21, 5:30 p.m. CT

LIVE RESULTS:
TrackWrestling (classic viewer)
FloWrestling (new viewer)

TELEVISION: ESPN

AUDIO: Varsity App

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES:



TEAM SCORES THROUGH SESSION 5:


TEAM SCORING FOR SESSION 6:
Championship win = 4 + bonus

Episodes 1 and 2 are out, and the two chefs who were cut have no Last Chance Kitchen to save them so they are just done. 13 are left to battle it out. I went back and watched all of season 1 this weekend and man has this show evolved. I think I started watching on season 10 or so. BTW Gail Simmons in 2023 was a complete Smoke Show!!!! She still looks good but carrying a little of the baby weight still, but she also still has those RATs.
I haven't picked a favorite yet. Last year I was for the Houston guy who's dad died during restaurant wars, and his family convinced him to keep going, and he ended up winning it all.
My wife refuses to watch it because she finds some of the contest restrictions to be stupid. Like today you will be going out with a coal oil stove and a bow and arrow and you must cook using what you kill and find in the forest. She always exaggerates. I searched and didn't see any previous Top Chef Threads so I though i would start one.

Chris Williams and Brent Blum discuss the North Carolina job coming open as rumors swirl about the Tar Heels considering T.J. Otzelbeger. Several women’s basketball players hit the portal this week. What does it mean for the future of Iowa State Basketball? Taking a deep-dive into the Tennessee matchup for the Cyclones and more. Presented by Mechdyne.

“T.J. fixes stuff.” Take it from his dad, Tom Otzelberger.

From rebuilding Iowa State to adjusting on the fly without Joshua Jefferson, the Cyclones keep finding a way this March.

Randy Peterson writes on the coaching behind this Sweet 16 run.

Does anyone know where I could find a replay of our game against Kentucky? I thought it recorded on my Hulu but it's not there. The March Madness app only has a 10 minute condensed game. Thanks

I'm 65 years old and I'm just trying to figure out why I hate the Hawks so much. I'm even rooting for the Cornhuskers over them!
What are some of your reasons you hate the Hawks so much?

I've been wondering about this for a while. Our wrestling team does not have nearly as competitive a schedule as a team in the B10. Does that hurt us. I started thinking about this a few years ago, as an avid VB fan, I'd see our girls do decently in the B12 but have very, very limited success once they hit the national tournament.

I looked at our wrestling schedule this year, and we only fought 3 teams that finished in the top 10 of the 2026 tournament, and only 5 teams finishing in the top 15. Iowa, on the other hand, fought 6 top 10 teams and 8 top 15 teams. I admit I am not considering who we met at tournaments but I doubt if it changes things very much.

B12 BB is high level and FB is decent. But are we destined to slide backwards for no other reason than the competition our guys face.

My fear is that it becomes increasingly difficult for our guys to do well nationally as we move into the future. Yes, money and recruiting are a factor but I would like to think outside that box for now. Those are connected issues but let's focus on the level of competition for this discussion.

Or am I all wet.

I did some old fashioned stat analysis myself. (Anyone can correct me if off anywhere) Our win margin heading into the Sweet 16 is obnoxious. A total of +694 for the 29 wins. Now granted a lot of these were early season cupcakes. I isolated the 24 blowouts from what I consider 5 close wins and even in the close wins it's a +23 total difference. We all know the few "bad" loses with point differences, but those were to good teams. Even Cincinnati could be argued not a "bad" loss. The bottom line is when this team is on it suffocates other teams with defense and opponents just give up leading to ridiculous win margins. I'm curious how this would stack up against Arizona and Houston. My guess is they can say something similar. I'm doubtful though outside the conference other than Duke and Michigan could claim this.

Record 29-7
29 win point margins:
24 Blowouts (good teams in caps)
FDU 88-50 +38
Grambling State 102-62 +40
Mississippi State 96-80 +16
Stonehill 96-57 +39
Creighton 78-60 +18
Syracuse 95-64 +31
Alcorn State 132-68 +64
PURDUE 81-58 +23
Eastern Illinois 78-53 +25
Long Beach State 91-60 +31
Houston Christian 89-61 +28
West Virginia 80-59 +21
Oklahoma State 83-71 +22
UCF 87-57 +30
Oklahoma State 84-71 +23
Colorado 97-67 +30
Kansas State 95-61 +34
KANSAS 74-56 +18
Utah 75-59 +16
Arizona State 86-56 +30
Arizona State +49
TEXAS TECH 75-53 +22
Tennessee State 108-74 +34
KENTUCKY 82-63 +19
----
+671
(Blowout game average win margin +28)
5 Close Games (good teams in caps)
ST JOHNS 83-82 +1
IOWA 66-62 +4
Baylor 70-60 +10 (considering a 10 point win a close one)
Baylor 72-67 +5
HOUSTON 70-67 +3
----
+23
(Close game average win margin +4.6)
-----
+694 total win margin
+23.93 average margin of victory
7 Loses (good teams in caps)
KANSAS 63-84 -21
Cincinnati 70-79 -9
TCU 55-62 -7
BYU 69-79 -10
TEXAS TECH 73-82 -9
ARIZONA 57-73 -16
ARIZONA 80-82 -2
----
-74 total loss margin
-10.6 average loss margin
694 win margin - 74 loss margin = +620 total season margin

Iowa State is moving on to the Sweet 16 for the third time in the last five years under head coach TJ Otzelberger. The Cyclones (29-7) will take on the Tennessee Volunteers (24-11) in Chicago, Illinois, with a trip to the Elite 8 on the line. The Cyclones are seeking their first Elite 8 appearance since the 1999-2000 season.

Let's break down the remaining teams in the Midwest Region starting with Tennessee.

Addy Brown and four other Cyclones are reportedly entering the transfer portal, what it means for the program. Jake Brend lays out his three biggest keys to Iowa State beating Tennessee in the Sweet 16 and gives an update from the 2026 Pro Day. Presented by Whiskey River in the Northwest Bank Studios. Login to view embedded media

Anyone have thoughts on who we match up with better? With Jefferson's availability up in up in the air, it'll be interesting. Thinking a W either way. Go Cyclones!

Anyone have a spot where ISU fans gather to watch games?

Johnny Orr 14 seasons - 1 sweet 16
Tim Floyd 4 seasons - 1 sweet 16
Larry Eustachy 5 seasons - 1 elite 8
Wayne Morgan 3 seasons - 0 sweet 16
Greg McDermott 4 seasons- 0 sweet 16
Fred Hoiberg 5 seasons - 1 sweet 16
Steve Prohm 6 seasons - 1 sweet 16
TJ Otzelburger 5 seasons - 3 sweet 16

TJ is ISU’s GOAT, right?

When was the last time ISU had 1+ in the ncaa finals? I remember Kyven, DC, John Reader all in the finals.

Was the last time Hesket and “he who I can’t say his name” the last time?

TIA and go Younger!!

I always like looking at the psychological advantages/disadvantages heading into a game because I think they can be significant. Here's a few that immediately come to mind for our Sweet 16 matchup with Tennessee:

Game Location
Game is in Chicago, easily within driving distance. There's little doubt the crowd will be much more pro-Cyclones.

Start Time
While I hate having such a late tip time (9:10pm), it's going to feel even an hour later for the boys from Tennessee.

Scouting Report
Tennessee will have to prepare for essentially two different ISU teams, one that includes JJ and one that does not. Also, while Tennessee has 4 days to try to prepare for our defense, there's no way they can replicate it in practice.

Normally i don't get to far into this type of thing. However, this does feel a bit personal. They keep matching this coaches team up against UConn in the NCAA tourney. It's actually kind of funny to me. Probably not if you are her.

I haven't seen this posted elsewhere, so I thought I would start a new thread because these photos from the Kentucky game are really great. Enjoy.

Iowa State (22-9, 10-8 Big 12) vs. Syracuse (23-8, 12-6 ACC)

Gampel Pavilion – Storrs, Conn.

Saturday, March 21, 2026 – 4:30 p.m.


WATCH: ESPN 2 (PxP: Ryan Ruocco, Analyst: Rebecca Lobo, Sideline: Holly Rowe)

LISTEN: Cyclone Radio Network (PxP: Noah Wolf, Analyst: Jamie Steyer Johnson)

LIVE STATS

Awful story. She covered the Minnesota Wild for NHL.com:

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VS



Kentucky (22-13, 10-8 SEC)
#6 IOWA STATE (28-7, 12-6 BIG 12)
SUNDAY, MARCH 22TH 1:45 P.M. CST
Enterprise Center / St. Louis, MO


TV: CBS
Talent: Spero Dedes, pxp Jim Spanarkel, analyst Jon Rothstein, reporter

Radio: Cyclone Radio Network (Varsity Network)
CRN Talent: John Walters (pxp); Eric Heft (analyst)