Iowa State stunned by UAB 60-59 in NCAA tournament

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A crowd of reporters dispersed from a corner just off the court at KFC Yum! Center, leaving Jameel McKay standing against the wall.

As McKay stood there, reality set in and the emotion of what just happened started to surface. He wiped away his tears, collected himself for the next round of interviews and knew three-seed Iowa State's early exit wasn't just some bad dream.

'It's just really now hitting me,' a teary-eyed McKay said. 'It was just unbelievable and I was in complete shock. I've never been so shocked. I didn't expect to come here and lose in the first round.'

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The pain of Iowa State's 60-59 loss to 14-seed UAB was clear in each player's voice, only amplified by the stone-silence atmosphere of the Cyclones' locker room. In just the second game of the NCAA tournament, aspirations of a Final Four run were suddenly dashed.

'You're just bounced in the first game of the NCAA tournament,' said junior Georges Niang, who sat quietly with a green towel draped over his head. 'I can't tell you how terrible I feel for everyone in this program and everyone that supports this organization. I feel horrible.'

Lacking fast starts in its previous five games, the Cyclones (25-9, 12-6) jumped out to an early 12-2 lead that featured five points from Niang. Foul trouble sent the junior to the bench with less than 10 minutes to go in the half, and nine ISU turnovers helped UAB to a 31-28 lead at the break.

Niang returned to the lineup in the second half, but struggled to find a rhythm offensively. He finished with 11 points, but was 1-for-11 shooting in the second half, missing four shots in the paint and three more on the low block.

'Unfortunately, they just didn't go. He had some great looks,' said Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg. 'Georges Niang, I wouldn't trade anyone in the world for Georges Niang. The kid is an absolute warrior and a winner, and I'll take those shots every day of the week with him.'

The Blazers (20-15, 12-6) used their length to dismantle the Cyclones on the boards, outrebounding them 52-37, including 19-9 on the offensive glass. UAB had 16 second-chance points with 11 coming in the second half.

In his final game at Iowa State, senior forward Dustin Hogue was kept off the glass most of the day, recording just three rebounds and zero points in 23 minutes.

'It hurts. Nobody wants to go out like this,' Hogue said. 'We play harder teams than UAB. We play in the best conference in the country and one of the best tournaments in the country in the Big 12. We come out to a UAB team and were sluggish. It doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense at all.'

Iowa State led 55-51 with 3:13 to go, but the last nine points for the Blazers came from UAB's William Lee and Robert Brown. Lee, who hit two free throws that proved to be the game winners with 12 seconds left, finished with 14 points while Brown poured in 21.

Despite back-to-back Big 12 tournament titles and a 25-win season, the year crashing to a halt in the second round in the NCAA tournament left Hoiberg as shell-shocked as his players.

'I was honest with them,' Hoiberg said, 'this is as tough a loss as I've ever dealt