Niang’s season-ending injury from last year locked in ISU memory

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fred Hoiberg has the moment seared in memory. More than a year later, it hasn't faded.

He stood on the floor at the AT&T Center in San Antonio being interviewed by television reporter Craig Sager, emotions running high after his team's second-round victory against North Carolina Central.

They were running high for all the wrong reasons.

Moments before, athletics trainer Vic Miller had broken the news to Hoiberg: forward Georges Niang had suffered a fractured fifth metatarsal in his right foot. The Cyclones' go-to guy had his season cut short.

'It was emotional,” Hoiberg said. 'Walking into the interview, I had to break the news to our guys about what had just happened.”

Now one year and another Big 12 Tournament title later, Niang has helped guide Iowa State right back to the same spot as a three-seed in the NCAA tournament. The Cyclones will face 14-seed UAB today at 11:40 a.m. on truTV.

The pain of knowing how a season can end without a moment's notice has fueled Niang.

'It motivated me to work even harder to change some things in my game this year,” Niang said. 'It was extremely tough. Take everything with a grain of salt. I'm just happy to be back here ready to compete with my team.”

Changes in his game accompanied changes in his body - Niang lost 25 pounds in the off-season - and he's averaged 15.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists because of it. Niang's teammates saw the pain caused by his not playing and know what a second chance in 2015 means to him.

'People say if there's a healthy Georges Niang, we're possibly national champions (last year),” said forward Dustin Hogue. 'That's kind of been tough on him and he's been talking about it a lot, but I think now he's more so trying to make a statement that he's here and we're going to do something special.”

The road starts with the Blazers (19-15, 12-6), who are winners of six of their last eight games, including a Conference USA Tournament title. UAB is the third youngest team in Division I.

Junior Robert Brown is the only scorer in double figures for the Blazers at 13.1 points; the team averages nearly 70. After a rugged Big 12 season, the Cyclones know that taking a team for granted doesn't just mean a loss. It ends the season.

'They run their stuff, execute it and stay true to it,” said guard Naz Long. 'They're very fundamentally sound and we're not underestimating them. We know they're capable of doing things and won their conference title and that's by no fluke.”

A fourth-consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament and consecutive Big 12 Tournament titles are program bests at Iowa State, but Hoiberg hasn't seen the level of satisfaction plateau. If anything, combined with a loss in the Sweet 16 as Niang watched from the bench, the hunger grew.

'I think our guys are focused,” Hoiberg said. 'We've thrown a lot at them in a short amount of time with UAB and what they try to do. Hopefully, we'll go out and execute it tomorrow because that's where it starts.”