ST. LOUIS — Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger took in the Ohio Valley Conference evidence to fully understand what the No. 2 seed Cyclones are facing in Tennessee State, the No. 15 seed and first-round NCAA Tournament opponent for the Cyclones on Friday afternoon.
It only took a few seconds to get a feel for the Tigers’ style because they never hit the brakes.
“They score fast. Their first eight seconds of the shot clock, they scored as many or more than any team out there,” Otzelberger said.
St. LOUIS — Tennessee State averages 70.1 possessions per game and forces turnovers on 20 percent of opponent possessions. If you know much about the Cyclones (27-7), this likely is sounding familiar.
Iowa State, entering the NCAA Tournament off of a buzzer-beater loss to Big 12 champion Arizona in the conference tournament semifinals, takes the ball away on almost one-fourth of opponent possessions (sixth in the NCAA). The Cyclones average 81.8 points per game, so a harried pace is not problem.
Three upperclassmen are capable of carrying the Cyclones’ offense on a given night. Forwards Milan Momcilovic and Joseph Jefferson average right at 17 points per game. Both shoot the 3 at a high percentage, but Momcilovic is in a league of his own at 49.6% on the season.
And the engine of the offense, senior point guard Tamin Lipsey, received the green light to practice after a groin injury in the Big 12 tournament caused some concern.
“He’s great, feels great,” Otzelberger said ahead of the Midwest Region game. “Practiced (Tuesday), looked like the great player that he’s been for us all year.”
Tennessee State will be 13 days between games when the Tigers make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 32 years under first-year head coach Nolan Smith. The first title game win and automatic bid since 1994 was a no-doubter, 93-67 victory over Morehead State on March 7.
Smith, a national title winner at Duke who spent time in the NBA before joining the coaching ranks, inherited a team coming off of a near-miss last season. the Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in the 2025 OVC tournament.
Guards Aaron Nkrumah and Travis Harper II spearhead the Tigers’ attack, combining for 34 points per game over the past five games with a total of 25 3-pointers between them during that stretch. Harper led the OVC in 3-point percentage, connecting on over 40 percent.
Tennessee State has won six games in a row entering Friday.
“This is everything,” Smith said. “This means more than when I was a player, 100 percent,” Smith said. “When I got into coaching, I always told myself, it’s always going to be about the players. To be a first-time head coach, and for this to be my first team, seeing them do what they just accomplished, man, it really does mean more to me.”
Iowa State is 4-4 in its last eight games with two losses to Arizona and a split with Texas Tech among them. This is the fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for Iowa State.
–Jeff Reynolds, Field Level Media
