Rob Gray

Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey — along with sixth man Curtis Jones — are adept at speeding opponents up and forcing live ball turnovers. Showcasing those qualities will be key for Iowa State in Saturday’s NCAA tournament second-round game against Washington State.

A 12-0 run essentially sealed second-seeded Iowa State’s 82-65 first-round NCAA tournament win Thursday over 15th-seeded South Dakota State. ISU shot a torrid 58 percent overall and 47.3 percent from 3-point range.

Audi Crooks stands front and center for No. 7-seed Iowa State and Wednesday was named an honorable mention All-American — the first freshman in program history to earn such accolades.

Hason Ward’s journey to Iowa State included a stop at Virginia Commonwealth as well as a visa-related ordeal. But now that he’s in his second and final season with the Cyclones, he’s become one of the team’s major X-factors off the bench.

Yonger Bastida scored bonus points in three of his four wins at the Big 12s, helping Iowa State win the team title for the first time since 2009. Now he sets his sights on the national tournament, where he’s ISU’s highest seed (No. 2) and poised to make a big run for the first time since attaining All-America honors at 197 in 2022.

Taylor Mouser started his coaching journey “from the ground up,” becoming an integral part of the Iowa State’s recruiting efforts early on. Now, as offensive coordinator, he’ll get to serve as a general manger of sorts himself, helping to shape and guide the Cyclones’ roster through spring ball (which begins Thursday), then fall camp, and finally, game days in 2024.

Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly chuckled slightly when he saw who his team would play to begin the NCAA tournament. That’s because the seventh-seeded Cyclones will face No. 10 seed Maryland, coached by one of his former assistants, Brenda Frese.

Iowa State will face the program that gave T.J. Otzelberger his first college head coaching job — South Dakota State — in Thursday’s first-round NCAA tournament game in Omaha. And suffice it to say, Otzelberger’s ties to the 15th-seeded Jackrabbits and head coach Eric Henderson still run deep.

The seventh-ranked Iowa State Cyclones steamrolled the shell-shocked Houston Cougars, 69-41, for the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament championship Saturday at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, a.k.a “Hilton South.”

Keshon Gilbert complied a sterling stat line of 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists as seventh-ranked Iowa State beat No. 14 Baylor, 76-62, Friday night in a Big 12 Tournament semifinal game to reach the conference title game for the first time since the 2018-19 season

Robert Jones erupted for a conference career-high 18 points as second-seeded Iowa State surged past Kansas State, 76-57, in a Big 12 men’s basketball quarterfinal game at T-Mobile Center

Iowa State begins the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament Thursday as rested and recuperated as possible in the thick of March. And once that bell rings for the first of potentially three straight games in as many days, the Cyclones will lean on what got them here: A grit-based, no-surrender approach that serves as their competitive foundation.

Iowa State followed last season’s Big 12 women’s basketball tournament winning script perfectly. First, upset Baylor. Second, do the same to regular-season league champion Oklahoma. Third? Well, fourth-ranked Texas conjured up a cruel plot twist — and instead of falling to the Cyclones in the title game like last season, the Longhorns cruised to a 70-53 triumph Tuesday night at T-Mobile Center.

Iowa State whips top-seeded Oklahoma in semifinals and will battle Texas in championship Tuesday night

Iowa State entered Saturday’s Big 12 regular-season finale at Kansas State clinging to hopes of sharing the league title for the first time since 2000-01. Instead, the sixth-ranked Cyclones fell, 65-58, while suffering just their second loss in the past 10 games.