Banged-up Iowa State cruises past Cincinnati, in the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What happens in the T-Mobile Center stays in the T-Mobile Center.

That’s hyper-versatile Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson’s policy when it comes to describing the technical foul he drew in the second half of Wednesday’s 76-56 rout of Cincinnati in the second round of the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament.

“We’re just gonna keep that on the floor,” said Jefferson, who shined from start to finish with 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals.

But?

“I wasn’t surprised,” he said.

The Cyclones (24-8) crafted a commanding 41-to-23 rebounding edge over the Bearcats (18-15), who were desperately trying to cling to the outer edge of the NCAA tournament bubble. ISU will face surging No. 17 BYU (23-8) in Thursday’s 11:30 a.m. quarterfinal — a rematch of a double-overtime setback nine days ago at Hilton Coliseum.

“(That) was a gritty game all-around,” said ISU point guard Tamin Lipsey, who added 16 points on 5-for-8 shooting on Wednesday before exiting the game late with a groin injury. “And obviously we played each other pretty recently, so we know each other well.”

Lipsey said he planned to play against the Cougars as he becomes the latest Cyclone to suffer a physical setback. He’s played through a fractured thumb much of the season and fellow guard Keshon Gilbert continues to be hampered by a muscle strain. Gilbert played 10-and-a-half minutes in the first half Wednesday, but sat out the second because he didn’t feel he could produce any explosive push.

“It’s just a day by day type of thing,” Gilbert said. “It depends on how it feels tomorrow and that’s how we’re gonna handle it _ doing what’s smart for me and my health.”

Lipsey’s in the same situation, but he famously — or infamously — must be dragged to the sideline no matter what type of pain he’s experiencing.

“Tamin is a guy, as you guys have seen for a long time, he’s gonna say he feels fine, no matter what we do, so we’ve got to keep (a) close eye on him,” ISU athletic trainer Vic Miller said. “(We’ll) kind of see how he’s moving and go from there.”

Lipsey’s dished out 23 assists to just three turnovers in the past four games and has shot better than 50 percent from the field in three of those matchups. So he’s gelling at the right time, just like last season when the Cyclones swept to a conference tournament title and Sweet 16 run.

“Tamin’s just Tamin,” said Gilbert, who sank a 3-pointer in his relatively brief return to the court. “He’s a dawg one-on-one. He’s the best point guard in the nation if you ask me.”

Speaking of “dawgs,” transfer center Dishon Jackson — a.k.a. “Big Dawg” — played his best game in an ISU uniform, scoring 10 points while hoarding a career-high 15 rebounds.

“It’s just who wants it more,” said Jackson, who hadn’t notched double-digit boards since the Jan. 4 win over Baylor. “I feel like (today) I wanted it more, and (head) coach (T.J. Otzelberger) was telling me before the game I need to attack the glass hard if we want to win, so that’s what I did.”

The Cyclones have now won by double-digits in four straight Big 12 tournament games — a string of blowouts likely to end no matter the outcome against the Cougars, who led by as many as 21 points in the previous meeting.

“They came and smacked us in the mouth in the beginning of the game,” Jefferson said. “So just coming out with a good sense of urgency tomorrow will help us get it done.”

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