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Cyclones keep dancin': Iowa State men beat Washington State, advance to Sweet 16

Cyclones keep dancin': Iowa State men beat Washington State, advance to Sweet 16
IT’S TIME TO PACK THE BAGS AND HEAD EAST FOR THE SECOND TIME IN THREE SEASONS UNDER T.J. OTZELBERGER, THE CYCLONES DANCE ROLLS INTO THE SECOND WEEKEND. IOWA STATE IS HEADED BACK TO ANOTHER SWEET 16. I’M SORT OF STILL TAKING IT IN. IT’S JUST SO MUCH EXCITEMENT. DON’T HAVE A LOT OF WORDS FOR IT AT THIS MOMENT, BUT YEAH, JUST EXCITED TO TAKE IT, HOPEFULLY STEPS FARTHER AND PUSH FOR A LONGER RUN IN MARCH. IT WAS A 6756 WIN OVER WASHINGTON STATE AND IT WAS A TOUGH MATCHUP. THESE TWO TEAMS WERE TIED AT HALFTIME, BUT THANKS TO TIMELY SHOOTING AND SOME GREAT DEFENSE, IOWA STATE WAS ABLE TO PULL AWAY LATE, TAMING LIPSEY LED THE WAY FOR THE TEAM 15 POINTS. THEY HAD FOUR PLAYERS IN DOUBLE FIGURES, AND THE DEFENSE FORCED 13 TURNOVERS. IT’S THE FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN FOR IOWA STATE, DATING BACK TO THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT. ALL FIVE OF THOSE WINS ARE BY DOUBLE DIGITS. IT’S IT’S TIME TO SHIP UP TO BOSTON AS THE CYCLONES ARE READY TO MAKE MORE NOISE IN MARCH AND KEEP THIS THING ROLLING FOR THE TOLD ME THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A YEAR FROM NOW. I PROBABLY WANTED TO BELIEVE SO I’M JUST BLESSED TO BE HERE AND HAPPY TO CELEBRATE IT WITH THE TEAM. I’LL PROBABLY CELEBRATE WITH AN EARLY BEDTIME, HOPING MY WIFE GETS THE KIDS TO BED AND I CAN GET RIGHT UP TOMORROW MORNING AND GET READY TO MOVE FORWARD TO WHAT’S NEXT. YOU JUST FEEL SO GROUNDED BY TEAMMATES. UH, YOU FEEL AN EVEN DEEPER LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE THAT YOU HAVE AROUND YOU. COACHING STAFF, TEAMMATES. I SAY IT’S LIKE AN UNEXPLAINABLE FEELING. OF COURSE I’M HAPPY, BUT I I’M TRYING TO GO FURTHER. THE CYCLONES ARE FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS RIGHT NOW AND COULD BE CONSIDERED THE HOTTEST TEAM IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL. THEY ARE PLAYING WITH A TON OF CONFIDENCE AND ARE NOW, OF COURSE, JUST TWO WINS AWAY FROM A FINAL FOUR APPEARANCE. REPORTING FR
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Cyclones keep dancin': Iowa State men beat Washington State, advance to Sweet 16
Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points, Iowa State cranked up the second-half pressure against Washington State, and the No. 2 seed Cyclones marched into their seventh Sweet 16 with a 67-56 victory over the seventh-seeded Cougars in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.Curtis Jones added 14 points and Keshon Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic had 10 apiece for the Cyclones (29-7), who made it to the second weekend of the tourney for the second time in three years. They will play third-seeded Illinois or No. 11 seed Duquesne in the East Region semifinals on Thursday night at TD Garden in Boston.Video above: Tamin Lipsey's five-game run as the Ames High QB was a sight to beholdJaylen Wells scored 20 points and Myles Rice had 13 for the Cougars (25-10), who were sent back to the Palouse still searching for their first Sweet 16 appearance since Tony Bennett was on the sideline in 2008.Iowa State spent most of the first half in shambles thanks to what current Cougars coach Kyle Smith calls "the shawmbles," a suffocating style of defense named for associated head coach and defensive whiz Jim Shaw. The Cougars aggressively jumped passing lanes, harried the Cyclones' shooters on the perimeter and crashed the boards with abandon.While Iowa State was busy missing 14 of its first 17 shots, Wells was going 7 of 12 in the first half for 16 points, proving the March Madness stage was not too big for a kid playing Division II ball at Sonoma State a year ago.The Cyclones finally got going by going downhill. Lipsey and Gilbert attacked the rim, getting layups or drawing fouls, and slowly they crawled back into the game. By the time Hason Ward scored on an alley-oop lay-in in the closing seconds of the half, the Big 12 tourney champs had forged a 27-all tie with the regular-season Pac-12 runner-ups.Washington State had handled Iowa State's defense in the first half, turning the ball over just five times. But as the game pressed on, and the Cyclones pulled ahead, the Cougars suddenly began throwing the ball into the first row of seats.Iowa State led 51-46 with 7 1/2 minutes left when Lipsey drilled a contested 3-pointer. Isaac Jones turned it over at the other end, and Tre King added another basket to make it a 10-point game. And a few minutes later, Rice sent a pass skipping into the backcourt, and a bucket by Curtis Jones pushed the Cyclones' lead to 59-48 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.By that point, desperation had set in for the Cougars, and Iowa State was coasting toward the Sweet 16.Sweet 16 up next Iowa State has not played Illinois since the Maui Invitational in 2018, when the Cyclones won in a rout. Iowa State also won in 2015 in the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida, but before that, the Fighting Illini had won 10 straight in the series. Iowa State has never played Duquesne.More Cyclones coverage:Iowa State basketball: Get to know the Cyclone men's roster Tamin Lipsey's five-game run as the Ames High QB was a sight to behold No. 2 seed Iowa State rolls past South Dakota State, 82-65 March Madness: Highlights and photos from Iowa State's win in Omaha

Tamin Lipsey scored 15 points, Iowa State cranked up the second-half pressure against Washington State, and the No. 2 seed Cyclones marched into their seventh Sweet 16 with a 67-56 victory over the seventh-seeded Cougars in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night.

Curtis Jones added 14 points and Keshon Gilbert and Milan Momcilovic had 10 apiece for the Cyclones (29-7), who made it to the second weekend of the tourney for the second time in three years. They will play third-seeded Illinois or No. 11 seed Duquesne in the East Region semifinals on Thursday night at TD Garden in Boston.

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Video above: Tamin Lipsey's five-game run as the Ames High QB was a sight to behold

Jaylen Wells scored 20 points and Myles Rice had 13 for the Cougars (25-10), who were sent back to the Palouse still searching for their first Sweet 16 appearance since Tony Bennett was on the sideline in 2008.

Iowa State spent most of the first half in shambles thanks to what current Cougars coach Kyle Smith calls "the shawmbles," a suffocating style of defense named for associated head coach and defensive whiz Jim Shaw. The Cougars aggressively jumped passing lanes, harried the Cyclones' shooters on the perimeter and crashed the boards with abandon.

While Iowa State was busy missing 14 of its first 17 shots, Wells was going 7 of 12 in the first half for 16 points, proving the March Madness stage was not too big for a kid playing Division II ball at Sonoma State a year ago.

The Cyclones finally got going by going downhill. Lipsey and Gilbert attacked the rim, getting layups or drawing fouls, and slowly they crawled back into the game. By the time Hason Ward scored on an alley-oop lay-in in the closing seconds of the half, the Big 12 tourney champs had forged a 27-all tie with the regular-season Pac-12 runner-ups.

Washington State had handled Iowa State's defense in the first half, turning the ball over just five times. But as the game pressed on, and the Cyclones pulled ahead, the Cougars suddenly began throwing the ball into the first row of seats.

Iowa State led 51-46 with 7 1/2 minutes left when Lipsey drilled a contested 3-pointer. Isaac Jones turned it over at the other end, and Tre King added another basket to make it a 10-point game. And a few minutes later, Rice sent a pass skipping into the backcourt, and a bucket by Curtis Jones pushed the Cyclones' lead to 59-48 with 3 1/2 minutes to go.

By that point, desperation had set in for the Cougars, and Iowa State was coasting toward the Sweet 16.

Sweet 16 up next

Iowa State has not played Illinois since the Maui Invitational in 2018, when the Cyclones won in a rout. Iowa State also won in 2015 in the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida, but before that, the Fighting Illini had won 10 straight in the series. Iowa State has never played Duquesne.

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