Cyclones Earn No. 2 Seed in NCAA Tournament, Face Tennessee State

Iowa State to take on Ohio Valley Conference champions in opening round in St. Louis

Mar. 15, 2026 at 10:26pm

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For the fifth time in five seasons under head coach TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State is headed to the NCAA Tournament as a two-seed in the Midwest Region. The Cyclones (27-7) will face 15-seed Tennessee State, the Ohio Valley Conference champions, on Friday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

Why it matters

Iowa State enters the tournament playing some of its best basketball of the season, having won three of its past four games. The Cyclones have made the Sweet 16 twice under Otzelberger and are looking to build on their recent tournament success.

The details

Iowa State rolled to blowout victories over Texas Tech and Arizona State in the Big 12 Tournament before falling to NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed Arizona in the semifinals. The Cyclones enter the Big Dance ranked highly in several advanced metrics and were 8-7 in quad-1 games this season.

  • Iowa State was announced as a two-seed in the Midwest Region on Sunday, March 15, 2026.
  • The Cyclones will face Tennessee State on Friday, March 21, 2026 in the opening round in St. Louis.

The players

TJ Otzelberger

Head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones, leading the team to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in five seasons.

Tamin Lipsey

Senior starter for Iowa State, averaging 13.3 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game.

Joshua Jefferson

Senior starter for Iowa State, averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game.

Milan Momcilovic

Iowa State's leading scorer at 17.1 points per game and the nation's top 3-point shooter at 49.6%.

Jaden Bradley

Freshman guard for Arizona, hit a buzzer-beating jumper to defeat Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.

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What’s next

An ISU win on Friday would mean a spot in the round of 32 and Sunday matchup against either the winner of the game between the 7-seed and 10-seed in the Midwest Region.

The takeaway

Iowa State has established itself as a consistent NCAA Tournament team under coach Otzelberger, earning a top-2 seed for the second time in four seasons. The veteran-led Cyclones are looking to build on their recent tournament success and make a deep run in March Madness.