To those BetOnline patrons who were watching the Selection Sunday show on CBS, you heard a very lively discussion surrounding the Iowa State Cyclones, where it was argued that because they did not have a robust non-Conference schedule, they did not deserve consideration as a top seed in any of the four regions of the NCAA tournament.

As it turns out, they wound up with the #2 slot in the East, and it is there that they will try to advance the Sweet 16 with a victory over the Washington State Cougars on Saturday night.

The tips off at 6:10 PM Eastern time at the CHI Health Center in Omaha, televised by TNT.

The top two non-conference victories the Cyclones achieved came against VCU and Iowa. Okay, not much. But you could obviously make a very convincing argument that they did battle on more than even ground, in what may be the most competitive conference of the country. In the Big 12, Iowa State defeated the likes of Houston, TCU, Kansas, Texas, Texas, Tech, BYU and Baylor. You’re not going to find very many teams who have taken the measure of elite competition like that.

You must also keep in mind that Iowa State won the Big 12 tournament, destroying Houston 67–41 in the process. They held those Cougars to is 27% from the field.

And in what was either irony, or intention on the part of the Selection Committee, Iowa State wound up playing South Dakota State in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. The Cyclones coach, TJ Otzelberger, in his third year at the school, previously was the head man at UNLV, and before that at South Dakota State. And ISU handled them without a lot of trouble, chalking up an 82–65 win and placing five players in double figures. Milan Momcilovic had 19 points, while Tamin Lipsey had 17 with seven assists.

In the NCAA tournament odds that have been posted on this game by the folks at BetOnline, Iowa State is the solid favorite:

Iowa State Cyclones -6.5 (-108)
Washington State Cougars +6.5 (-112)

Over 128 .5 points -110
Under 128.5 points -110

With Iowa State, it is defense first. In fact, they are #2 in the nation in adjusted defensive efficiency, and second nationwide in turnover percentage on defense. So they put a lot of pressure on the opponent, and if you aren’t able to take care of the ball, you are in trouble.

The Cyclones also give up only 31.8% from three-point range, so this is the kind of thing that limits the opposing offense.

Offensively, ISU has made some progress. They were well outside the top 100 in each of the last two seasons in offensive efficiency, but this year they are 52nd, and don’t think Otzelberger isn’t proud of that. He’s got one of his former UNLV players in the starting lineup, in Keshan Gilbert, who makes a dynamic guard combo with Lipsey. We’ve mentioned Momcilovic previously. He was a highly coveted freshman recruit. And in a third guard position, Curtis Jones is a transfer from Buffalo, where he averaged 15 points a game. So there is offensive talent now.

If there is an X factor here, they could be freshman, Omaha Bellew, who got a lot of attention from recruiters. The Cyclones have not gotten much out of him yet, but there is a big upside.

Washington State got a hard-earned 66–61 victory over Drake in the opening round. They were down by eight points with 6 1/2 minutes left, but rallied. Isaac Jones had 20 points and 11 rebounds, but the Cougars shot just 34% from TWO point range, and that’s going to be a big concern with an Iowa State team that can make opponents one-dimensional.

You may know that head coach Kyle Smith did a great job with Wazzu, having to put together almost a full roster in one season, as nine scholarship players had to be replaced. He’s done very well to get this far, because nobody thought they could make any noise in the Pac 12. But this could be where it ends, as tough-as-nails Iowa State gets prepared to make a run. Lay the points.

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