Iowa State focused on ‘possibilities and opportunities’ entering Friday's NCAA Tournament opener vs. UT-Arlington

AMES — The numbers 84 and 82 lit up Iowa State’s scoreboard at the Sukup Practice Facility.

They served to motivate, not deflate, the Cyclones throughout grueling summer workouts — despite what they represented.

“Just kind of a mental reminder of where we were last year and kind of what we don’t want to do this year,” ISU star senior Ashley Joens said of the digits that formed the final score of last season’s second-round NCAA tournament loss to Texas A&M in overtime. “Just taking that next step forward and use it as motivation.”

The third-seeded Cyclones narrowly missed advancing to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010 a year ago, but now embark on a new postseason quest beginning with Friday’s 9 p.m. first-round tournament game against No. 14 seed UT-Arlington at Hilton Coliseum.

And while the past is not prologue, it can be a great teacher, particularly for a talented ISU team (26-6) that achieved regular-season records for wins (25) and conference triumphs (14).

“It made us focus on how important the little things are,” said Cyclones point guard Emily Ryan, who is 11 assists shy of breaking the school’s all-time single-season record of 238. “That’s something we focused on a lot this summer, is that any little play or any little detail can change the outcome of the game.”

ISU will face an athletic Mavericks team (20-7) that features 21.1 points-per-game scorer Starr Jacobs, but ranks 284th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (27.65).

“Jacobs is a handful,” Cyclones head coach Bill Fennelly said. “The kind of post player we see in our league.”

That’s big, physical and talented. So it’s likely Jacobs, who stands 6-2, will put up some gaudy numbers. ISU will look to clamp down on complementary players while staying hot from 3-point range.

The Cyclones rank second nationally in long-range shooting percentage (38.9), but are also adept at attacking the basket.

“Embrace who you are and don’t apologize for what you’re not,” Fennelly said of his backcourt-driven team. “That’s what we’re going to try and do (Friday) night.”

ISU’s ability to adhere to its identity is one reason Fennelly felt comfortable in reminding them of the loss that ended last season’s tournament run.

The Cyclones couldn’t fend off an Aggies rally in San Antonio that prompted Fennelly to print up T-shirts emblazoned with the words, “Remember the Alamo.”

“Some teams, that’s a reminder of a negative,” Fennelly said. “I think this group, it was more of a reminder of possibilities and opportunities that we didn’t take advantage of — and I think our team understands that. Certainly the leadership of our team understands it. So it was just one of those things that just literally we decided to try it. We asked them about it. They seemed very receptive. So we kind of went with it.”

And here the are. Back again with another chance to navigate through the “madness.” Striving to etch more pleasant memories in their collective mind this time around.

“Having this opportunity is really special and to be able to do it in front of Hilton makes it even more special,” Ryan said. “I know as a team we’re going to be focused on the task at hand, but we’re going to enjoy the moment as well.”

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