Three Thoughts on Iowa State’s 82-65 Win Over South Dakota State
The 2024 NCAA Tournament is underway and on Thursday, in the First Round, the No. 3 Iowa State Cyclones took on the No. 14 South Dakota State Jackrabbits. On Thursday night in Omaha, it was the Cyclones rolling to the Round 32 with an 82-65 victory.
Here are three thoughts on the game.
Sharp Shooting
Iowa State picked up where it left off in the Big 12 Tournament. The Cyclones shot 58% from the floor and 48% from three-point range in the win over the Jackrabbits. Both numbers were well above their season averages of 46% and 34%.
Milan Momcilovic led the way with 19 points and Tamin Lipsey added 17 points with seven assists. Also, Keshon Gilbert dropped in 15 with five assists.
The Cyclones did have some sloppy late first half turnovers that allowed SDSU to keep it to within seven points at halftime, but ISU picked up where they left off in the second half and cruised to a victory over the final 20 minutes.
Tamin Lipsey Scare
Tamin Lipsey left the game around the five-minute mark with an apparent shoulder injury. The good news is that he’s OK.
But for a few minutes, Iowa State fans were collectively holding their breath and hoping their dreams of a deep March run weren’t going up in flames in the First Round.
But Lipsey is fine and Iowa State now waits for either Washington State or Drake on Saturday.
Iowa State’s Crowd Was Awesome
The Iowa State Cyclones were playing in Omaha and Cyclone Nation showed out in an enormous way.
Should we start calling Omaha, “Hilton West”?
Big 12 fans know full well about Iowa State fans traveling well, but if they end up in Boston next week for the East Regional, the Massholes are likely going to be stunned by Cyclone Nation’s appearance in Beantown.
