Photo via Iowa State MBB on X (Twitter)/ @CycloneMBB

Tennessee basketball is back in the Sweet 16 for a fourth straight season as they prepare to face two-seed Iowa State in the Midwest Region Semifinals on Friday night in Chicago. With a win, the Vols advance to the Elite Eight for a third straight season and become 40 minutes from the first Final Four in program history.

Here’s a quick look at the Cyclones ahead of the NCAA Tournament matchup.

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How The Cyclones Got Here

Iowa State climbed into the top five in the AP Poll after starting the season 16-0. The Cyclones looked like a legit national title contender in non conference play, earning wins over St. John’s, at Purdue and Iowa.

Big 12 play was a bit rockier for the Cyclones. They finished the regular season 4-4 in their last eight games with losses against TCU, BYU, Texas Tech and Arizona. But Iowa State has got things back on track since postseason play has begun.

The Cyclones earned wins over Arizona State and Texas Tech before losing a nail biter against Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. Last week, the Cyclones annihilated 15-seed Tennessee State in the first round of the tournament before coasting past seven-seed Kentucky in the Round of 32.

Iowa State’s Strengths

Just about everything, but let’s start on the defensive end of the court where Iowa State ranks fifth nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency. Its biggest strength is its ability to force turnovers, ranking fourth nationally by forcing turnovers on 22.5% of its opponents possessions this season.

Opponents shoot under 50% from the field against Iowa State and they do a good job cleaning up the defensive glass, ranking 65th nationally in defensive rebounding rate. They also do a good job of defending without fouling.

Offensively, Iowa State wins the shot quantity battle most games because they turn the ball over on less than 15% of its possessions and rank in the top 35 nationally in offensive rebound rate.

Led by wing Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State is one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country. The Cyclones rank 11th nationally with a 38.7 three-point shooting percentage. While they shoot extremely well from three-point range, they do not shoot an abundance of them like Virginia or Miami (Ohio).

Iowa State’s Weaknesses

There’s not a ton of them but there are a few areas where Iowa State is not great. Let’s start with their rim defense. The Cyclones do not block shots and rank just 126th in two-point defense. As good as Iowa State is defensively, Tennessee should be able to score inside in this game.

Offensively, Iowa State does not get to the free throw line often. And when they do, they actually shoot the ball worse than Tennessee. The Cyclones shoot 66.7% from the line— the lowest mark of teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament.

Standout Cyclones

Iowa State has one of the best three-player trios in the entire country. Perhaps the most important note previewing this game is the status of star forward Joshua Jefferson. The Second Team All-American injured his ankle against Tennessee State and missed the Kentucky game.

Jefferson is a do-it-all star, averaging 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He shoots 34.5% from three-point range and has made 38 triples so far this season.

Tamin Lipsey is a traditional point guard. He’s averaging 13.3 points, 5.1 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. The 6-foot-1 senior ranks 129th nationally in assist rate and 20th nationally in steal rate.

Milan Momcilovich is Iowa State’s leading scorer and the best shooter in the entire country. He’s averaging 17.2 points per game while making a remarkable 134 triples at a 49.3% clip. It’s an insane efficiency at an insane rate.

That’s the top trio for Iowa State but Jamarion Batemon is a good three-point shooter that starts at shooting guard. Blake Buchanan starts at center and averages 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.