Iowa State vs. Ole Miss: What to know about the Cyclones' NCAA Tournament opponent
Iowa State is one win away from the program's third Sweet 16 trip in the last four seasons.
T.J. Otzelberger's crew dispatched No. 14 seed Lipscomb, 82-55, in the first round Friday afternoon. The No. 3 seeded Cyclones now advance to Sunday's second round to take on No. 6 Mississippi, which took down No. 11 North Carolina, 71-64.
Here's what to know about Sunday's game.
How to watch Iowa State vs. Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament: TV and tickets
- When: 6:45 p.m. CT*, Sunday, March 23
- Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- TV: truTV
- Livestream:
*Iowa State vs. Ole Miss will tip off approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Illinois vs. Kentucky game, which also takes place in Milwaukee. That game is scheduled to tip at 4:15 p.m. CT.
All men's NCAA Tournament games will be played on CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV, and all games will be streamed on March Madness Live. CBS games will also stream on Paramount+, while TNT, TBS and truTV games will also stream on Max.
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Ole Miss basketball: Record, stats, NCAA Tournament history and more
- Record: 23-11
- Conference: SEC (10-8; tied for sixth place)
NCAA Tournament history: The Rebels haven't had much NCAA Tournament success since... well, ever.
Mississippi is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance this year since a first-round exit in 2018-19. It hasn't advanced out of the first weekend since the 2001 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 3 seed Rebels made second-half comebacks to eke into the Sweet 16, eventually losing there to national runner-up Arizona.
That is the only appearance to the Sweet 16 in school history. The Rebels have never been beyond that round.
Ole Miss ranks No. 34 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 18 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to college basketball analytics site KenPom. The Rebels are among the best in the country at avoiding turnovers (third-lowest turnover rate at 13.0%) but they don't score at a particularly efficient rate:
- 3-point percentage: 34.3% (151st out of 354)
- 2-point percentage: 50.9% (183rd)
- Free throw percentage: 73.5% (126th)
Nobody on the team makes 3-pointers at a 39% clip or better
Defensively, Ole Miss forces a lot of turnovers but does it at the cost of committing a significant number of fouls. The Rebels also rank near the bottom of the country in offensive rebounding and aren't much better on the defensive glass.
Ole Miss basketball players to watch: Sean Pedulla, Malik Dia
The name of the game for Ole Miss: balance.
Six different players average double-figures, with five of them between 10.4 and 10.8 points per game. The leader of the pack is senior guard Sean Pedulla, who transferred in from Virginia Tech and leads the team at 14.9 points and 3.6 assists per contest. Pedulla is also the team's best shooter (38.8% on 6.1 3-point attempts per game).
This is not Pedulla's first time facing the Cyclones. While at Virginia Tech last season, Pedulla led the Hokies to a 71-62 win over Iowa State in the ESPN Events Invitational. He had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in the victory, but the Cyclones did force him to commit 5 turnovers.
Junior forward Malik Dia (6-foot-9) is on his third college program in three years. He has blossomed as a full-time starter this season, posting averages of 10.6 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game.
A rematch with Chris Beard
Chris Beard and Iowa State have history, both in the NCAA Tournament and in the regular season.
Beard, now in his second season leading the Mississippi program, began his Division I head coaching career at Arkansas Little Rock in 2016. His team won a double-overtime thriller in the opening round vs. No. 5 seed Purdue and matched up with No. 4 seed Iowa State in the second round. Led by 28 points from Georges Niang and 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists from Matt Thomas, Iowa State cruised to a 17-point victory and a Sweet 16 berth.
Beard left after one season and landed at Texas Tech, where he compiled a 6-4 record vs. Iowa State across five seasons. He coached against Iowa State twice more as the coach of Texas in 2021-22 and split the two games. In total, Beard is 7-6 in 13 games against Iowa State as a head coach.
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