Cyclones back in Big Dance, drawing 6-seed in Midwest Region

For the second time in as many seasons as head coach, TJ Otzelberger has led Iowa State to an NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Cyclones are the six-seed in the Midwest Region and on Friday at 3:10 local time (2:10 central) will face the winner of Mississippi State and Pittsburgh, which play in Dayton later this week.

If the Cyclones can advance to the Sweet 16 for a second-consecutive season, they will be rewarded with a return trip to Kansas City and T-Mobile Center.

This is the 22nd all-time bid to the Big Dance for the Cyclones, who finished the regular season 18-12 before knocking off Baylor for a third time in the conference tournament quarterfinals and falling to Kansas in the semis.

Although I-State struggled during the month of February and lost eight out of nine games at one point, it seemed to put things together when the calendar turned to March with consecutive victories over the Bears before bowing out to the Jayhawks. The Cyclones were 9-9 in the regular season, competing in the most difficult conference in the country.

As the six-seed, ISU draws either an SEC or ACC foe in the round of 64.

The Cyclones are 0-3 all-time against Mississippi State, last facing it during Steve Prohm's final season as head coach in 2021. The Cyclones lost that one, 95-56. ISU also played the Bulldogs in a home-and-home series over the course of the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons.

ISU and Pittsburgh have faced just once in the respective schools' histories, with the Panthers winning 81-65 during the non-conference slate of the 1981-82 season.

With a win in the round of 64, the Cyclones will move on to play on Sunday against the winner of #3 Xavier and #14 Kennesaw State.

The bottom part of the Midwest Region bracket is composed of #2 Texas, #7 Texas A&M, #10 Penn State, and #15 Colgate...all potential Sweet 16 opponents of the Cyclones if they happen to return to Kansas City.