One season after posting just two wins and changing head coaches, Iowa State is back in the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed in the Midwest Region.
The Cyclones will face off against the number six seed LSU in the round of 64 on Friday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This will be the first meeting in school history between ISU and the Tigers.
ISU returns to the Big Dance for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign when it won the Big 12 Tournament title and earned an automatic bid.
The Cyclones are in the midst of an 18-game win improvement from last season under new head coach T.J. Otzelberger and enters the NCAA Tournament with a 20-12 record.
Although I-State struggled to a 7-11 mark in league play and lost a Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal game against Texas Tech, it did go a perfect 13-0 against non-conference opponents.
Friday's foe is dealing with its fair share of turmoil after head coach Will Wade was terminated following the team's ousting from the SEC Tournament. The embattled head coach compiled a 108-54 record in five seasons at the helm in Baton Rouge, but found himself in hot water with the NCAA following an FBI investigation. .
The Tigers are 22-11 overall and were 9-9 in conference play during the regular season. They toppled Missouri in the first round of the SEC Tournament before bowing out to Arkansas on Friday.
Similarly to the Cyclones, LSU opened the season on a tear and won its first 12 games The Tigers opened conference play with a 3-1 record but a stretch of six losses in seven outings sidetracked them.
Forward Teri Eason leads the Tigers in scoring with 16.9 points per game and is also chipping in with 6.7 rebounds on average. Another forward, Darius Days, averaged 13.7 points and a team-high 7.7 boards.
On average, LSU shoots 44-percent from the field and was 31.9-percent from 3-point territory.
The first- and second-round games will be held at the Fiserv Center in Milwaukee. If the Cyclones advance with an upset win, they would draw either #3 Wisconsin or #14 Colgate in the round of 32 on Sunday. The Midwest Regional rounds of 16 and 8 will be held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, the following weekend.
