Iowa State Cyclones: 23-10, 12-6 in the Big 12
Head coach: Steve Prohm (2nd season)
Players to watch: Monte Morris (16.3 PPG, 6.1 APG), Nazareth Mitrou-Long (15.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG), Deonte Burton (14.8 PPG, 6.2 RPG)
Season recap: The Cyclones have been known to get hot down the stretch of seasons and seem to be doing it again, capturing their third Big 12 tournament championship in four years. Iowa State started the season slow with nonconference losses to Gonzaga, Cincinnati and Iowa. The Cyclones then stumbled out of the gates in conference play and looked to be teetering after starting Big 12 play going 5-4.
But Iowa State turned its season around by accomplishing one of the hardest feats in college basketball—beating Kansas on the road. The Cyclones ended Kansas’ 54-game win streak at Allen Fieldhouse with a thrilling three-point overtime victory. The win was the start of a stretch in which Iowa State won nine of 11 games and began to resemble the dangerous offensive team many expected entering the season.
Monte Morris conducts the show for the Cyclones and ranks ninth in the country with 6.3 assists per game. Perhaps even more impressive is the senior's 5.7 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is the best in the nation and shows the guard's mastery of Prohm's offense. With Nazareth Mitrou-Long and senior Matt Thomas both averaging at least 12 points per game and Burton adding highlight-reel finishes, Iowa State has the makings of a dangerous team in the Big Dance.
How they make a run: Iowa State's seniors rely on momentum from late in the season and their veteran leadership to mount another run in the NCAA tournament behind their potent offense.
How they falter: The Cyclone offense is stymied by a physical, aggressive defense and Iowa State's inability to get stops consistently on the other end of the floor costs it down the stretch of a pivotal game.
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