By Wendell Barnhouse
Big12Sports.com Correspondent
Iowa State has rallied from double-digit deficits to win five consecutive games. But as the third-seeded Cyclones know, living on the razor’s edge in the NCAA Tournament can result in the cut that ends the season.
“If we want to do anything at all in the NCAA Tournament, we need to get off to better starts,” Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said as his team prepares to take on No. 14 seed UAB in the South Regional in Louisville, Ky., Thursday.
By staging memorable rallies and winning back-to-back Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Championships, the Cyclones are getting attention as a dark horse Final Four team. Iowa State reached the Sweet 16 last season before losing to eventual national champion Connecticut. But that Cyclones team was playing without Georges Niang, out with a broken foot.
Since before the season, Iowa State has embraced the idea that it could reach the Final Four. Hoiberg isn’t worried about expectations.
“I know one thing, it’s not going to get to their heads,” he said. I’m not going to have to worry about them getting a big head and going out there and just listening to what everybody’s saying about them. They’ll go out and play to the game plan.
“I know our guys are focused on the task at hand. Obviously, it’s not just going to happen. You’ve got to go take care of business. You’ve got to play 40 minutes.”
South Regional
11:40 a.m. Thursday, Louisville, Ky.
No. 3 Iowa State (25-8) vs. No. 14 UAB (19-15)
Cyclones update: Iowa State has advanced to its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament, a school record. Iowa State and Kansas are the only Big 12 schools to make the tournament in each of the last four years. The Cyclones average 79.3 points per game with five players scoring in double figures. Jameel McKay averages 12.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in the last 12 games (11 starts). Before McKay (53 blocks) became eligible in December, ISU had 26 blocks as a team in nine games. Sophomore point guard Monte’ Morris led the Big 12 in assists and has played the last 136 minutes without a turnover.
Blazers update: UAB is coached by former Kansas player Jerod Haase. He faced Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg four times as a player, going 3-1. The Blazers are solid at the free throw line (74 percent) and do a good job offensive rebounding, their shooting percentages from 2-point and 3-point range ranking in the 200s nationally. Junior guard Robert Brown is the team’s only double figure scorer at 12.8 per game. UAB played four ranked teams – Wisconsin, North Carolina, Florida and UCLA – in nonconference play and lost by an average margin of 22.8 points per game.
What’s next: Winner plays on Saturday against the winner of SMU and UCLA.