Iowa State cruises past Little Rock for Sweet 16 berth

DENVER — Georges Niang sat in the middle of a hoard of reporters while he thought back to when he was in middle school.

He remembers calling his mom on the phone and pretending to be sick just so he could go home and watch the NCAA tournament. From an early age, Niang was hooked on the big moments that happen in March.

Now that kid from Massachusetts isn't just watching the advanced stages of the tournament from afar or on the sidelines with an injury. He's right in the middle of it.

'She never let me come home,' Niang said about his mom, 'but those are those things you dream about. So to be here, I've got to take full advantage of every moment.'

Just like he did two days before, Niang went on an offensive tear — this time in the first half — to help 4-seed Iowa State to a 78-61 win against 12-seed Arkansas-Little Rock and move onto the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years and the fifth time in school history.

The Cyclones (23-11) will get the Midwest No. 1-seed Virginia on Friday in Chicago.

'I've prayed about this for these kids all season long, to just fight through the adversity we've been through,' said Iowa State coach Steve Prohm. 'We've been through a lot. We lost close games, the coaching change, getting to know one another; I think we're a complete team right now. Hopefully we can have the same focus in Chicago.'

Niang had 28 points for the second time in as many games and played all but two minutes in the win. He also moved into second place on the all-time ISU career-scoring chart with 2,198 points — he passed Barry Stevens with his 21

^st

point. It was his 17 first-half points that really helped Iowa State get over a hump against the Trojans (30-5).

Iowa State jumped in front early, but led just 26-24 with 5 minutes, 25 seconds to go in the opening half. Then Little Rock had to start contending with a play the Cyclones call 'Elbow.'

Essentially 'Elbow' let's Niang make decisions on the drive and it worked to near-perfection when he scored eight-straight points on three identical play calls. Matt Thomas, who had 16 points and four assists, capped a 10-0 run that put the Cyclones ahead comfortably from there on.

'In March, your best players have to play the best,' Prohm said. 'He had 28 and 28 (point ouputs). We got him the ball where he likes it and he made great plays whether it was in the post or off the drive or from 3. You're only going to win games this time of year if your best players play well and ours did today.'

Iowa State shot 56.6 percent from the field — 60 in the second half — while holding Little Rock to 37 percent. Niang himself was 11-for-18 from the field and 3-for-5 from long range.

'I mean two words, man,' Monte Morris said when asked to describe first-half offensive success. 'Georges Niang. He's a bad man and when he got it going, it's really, really hard to beat us. Once he made a couple, he told me he's throwing a rock in the ocean and keep feeding him.'

When Iowa State made the Sweet 16 two years ago, Niang sat idly by after breaking his foot in the opening round win against North Carolina Central. Hearing the words 'Sweet 16' has the senior reflecting on his whole career, but has him peaking to what lies ahead too.

'I've been to a Sweet 16, but I've never played in one,' Niang said. 'I just want to feel like I earned this one, but I want to keep going forward. The Sweet 16 is not what I aspire for. I aspire for more than that.'

Georges Niang to TNT: "Tell Coach Hoiberg we're coming for him." March 20, 2016

Georges Niang to TNT: "Tell Coach Hoiberg we're coming for him." https://t.co/qLxdZSyiaa pic.twitter.com/JKlWMfyob7

— CR Gazette Sports (@CRGazetteSports)